Naruto 1. Part I: The Hushino Squad

Chapter 1: Enter Kratos Hushino!

* * *

The morning sun rose over the mountains. Kratos Hushino prepared himself for the day to come. It was the day after the students of the Konoki Village Academy had graduated and become Genin, entry-level ninja. As one of the village's Jonin, an elite shinobi, he would be given three Genin to take on as students. Kratos was a tall, muscular man at the age of 26. He always wore some type of mask over his face and a skull cap with the insignia of the Omega Village on its front plate. Kratos certainly had the abilities to train Genin, making it in to the Konoki Shadow ANBU squad as a Chunin, secondary-level ninja, but he did not have the patience. Never the less, he put on his armor, including his katana, grabbed his ANBU mask and threw on his black cowl. If he was going to strike fear into his students early, he had to make a good first impression. "Take care of the house while I'm gone Gouryoku. I shouldn't be gone too long."

In a clearing just outside of the village, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakashimi Kodokuna sat on a large stump and waited in silence for their new sensei to arrive; for a little while anyway. "Cha! What's taking him so long? He told us to meet in this clearing at 7 o' clock; that was two hours ago." Sakura had never been the most patient shinobi in the village and hated wasting time waiting. She was a very intelligent girl, possibly the most intelligent Genin in the village. She had considerable weapon skills and her analytical style of battling made her a very defensive shinobi and she was always ready for anything. Despite her intelligence and great chakra control, her ninjutsu and genjutsu skills were sub-par and her taijutsu skills were just above those of an academy student.

"Sakura could you keep that mouth of yours shut, Sakamishi and I are trying to meditate while we wait." Sasuke was one of the most promising students in the academy. He was a balanced fighter that could not only take a hit but deliver a devastating assault on his victim. He was the last surviving member of the once mighty Uchiha Clan and was bent set on gaining more power and strength to kill a certain someone, although he never mentioned who it was.

"Go easy on her Sasuke. She has a point. We have been waiting here for hours with no sign of anyone even in the area." Sakashimi, like Sasuke was an only survivor. Unlike Sasuke, however, he was the only surviving member of an entire village: the Village Hidden in the Clouds. He was brought to Konoki as an infant and was raised to be a leaf village shinobi. He grew up never knowing the truth about his village, but he always felt as if there was a part of him that was missing. Even though he wasn't born in Konoki, he was incredibly loyal to the village and his new teammates.

"Thanks Sakashimi, at least someone on this team is reliable," Sakura directed to Sasuke.

"What's that suppose to mean Haruno?" Sasuke snapped back at Sakura.

"It's just that I can trust him to take my side and not always be so stiff and emotionless."

"Emotions are pointless; they only get in the way. They can turn even the most powerful ninja into a useless weakling."

"What are you talking about? Emotions are what makes us human, not useless."

Sakashimi just watched the two argue as he pulled out two kunai knives and practiced spinning them between his fingers. Just then, two leaves fell from a nearby tree and landed at his feet. _That's odd. There's no wind today and this isn't the season for the leaves to just fall._ Sakashimi thought to himself, the other two too involved in their scuffle to even notice. He stuck the two kunai into the stump and meandered his way over to the tree. He carefully examined the tree and surrounding area, but there was no sign of life in the entire area, besides Sasuke and Sakura. He turned to go back to the stump when all of a sudden; a dozen kunai fell from above him and landed in a perfect circle around him. This was enough to grab the attention of the other two who quickly ran over to help their comrade. "Sakashimi, are you alright?" Sakura asked as she ran toward him. "Yeah, I think I'm ok." Sakashimi said as he checked himself for anything that may have struck him.

Sasuke walked over to the ring of kunai and picked a few out of the ground. "Show yourself!" Sasuke demanded as he threw three kunai into the tree above him. In an instant, the three knives were caught and Kratos held Sasuke with his arm behind his back and a jagged blade to his neck. "So this is the ragtag group of Genin they gave me? This is going to be harder than I thought." Kratos sighed as he threw Sasuke back towards the other two.

"What do mean ragtag?" Sakura growled.

"It's exactly what I meant, you three don't seem to have any skills whatsoever." Kratos said as he put away his blade and threw one kunai at each of their feet.

"How can you even rate our skills yet?" Sasuke wondered as he picked up the kunai. "All you did was attack Sakashimi and I. How is that a good measure of our abilities?"

"Well for starters, you left me waiting in that tree for two hours, and it wasn't until I started dropping leaves that you even considered the fact that something living was even in that tree."

"We made you wait?" Sakura screamed. "We were told to meet in this clearing, not play hid and seek with a Jonin."

"That's beside the fact. Even when you did find me, you couldn't even dodge my attacks." Kratos said, motioning to Sakashimi and Sasuke.

"I guess we better get started with our training then if we're ever to become anything more than just 'ragtag.'" Sakashimi suggested in an attempt to end the squabbling.

"I guess you're right." Kratos laughed as he walked over to the stump. "First things first, we need to see if you guys even pass the Genin exam."

"What?!" The three said in unison. "I thought we already became Genin when we graduated from the academy." Sakura snarled.

"No, no. That was just to pick possible candidates for the Genin exam. Only nine graduates are going to become Genin." Kratos explained as he made a series of hand signs.

The three just stood there watching like deer in headlights. They couldn't believe they had worked so hard for nothing. Each of them could only wonder what would be in store for them in the Genin exam. The graduation exam was hard enough; and that was just to choose candidates. The Genin exam was going to be the hardest thing they had ever had to face. "Alright, let's get started," Kratos said as he finished his hand signs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Chapter 2: The True Test Begins!

* * *

As the smoke cleared, the three stared at the image of three sensei. None of them knew what was about to happen. One thing was for sure: if it involved three Jonin, it could not be good. Kratos and his clones then huddled together and appeared to pass around some kind of object. They then turned back toward Sakura, Sasuke and Sakashimi. A heart stopping silence filled the clearing; the clones remained perfectly still and the Genin were too scared to move. Then the clone on the left broke the silence; "Alright, let's get this started." Sakura was the first to snap out of her trance. "Whatever we have to do, we can handle anything you can dish out," she confidently announced. The two boys just looked at each other, both knowing having Sakura on their team would cause nothing but trouble. "I love your enthusiasm. You may just make this interesting," the center clone stated as he pulled a scroll from out of his sleeve.

"I assume you three know what this is," he rhetorically announced.

"Of course we know what it is," Sakashimi facetiously interjected. "It's a scroll. Shinobi use them to transcribe summoning symbols, write down surveying notes, and draw up battle plans."

"Thank you Sakamishi," the left clone said. "But I wanted more than just an academy student ans..."

"It's a Heaven scroll," Sakura interrupted, in a very humble tone.

"…Yes. Very good Sakura," praised the right clone. "It is becoming clear to me that reports about you are quite accurate; you very well may be the most intelligent student to graduate from the academy."

The center clone then took over the conversation. "But intelligence isn't the only attribute that makes a good shinobi. The other factors are about to be tested." He unraveled the Heaven scroll to reveal that there was nothing written on it. "Two of us have scrolls just like this: one is an Earth scroll, the other is this Heaven scroll. Your task will not only be to find out which of has them, but either acquire the information within them or merely take them from us when you find them."

The three Genin couldn't believe this was their test. It seemed too easy to be all that was needed for such an important test. _Why would he reveal to us that he had the Heaven scroll?_ Sasuke wondered to himself. _Why isn't there anything written on them__ if this is going to be a scouting test? This is going to much harder than those two idiots are even aware._ He looked at Sakamishi and Sakura, who not only had calm expressions, but extremely arrogant visages. _I'll easily prove to Kratos-sensei that I am the most superior Genin. _Sasuke kept his face completely void of any emotion, including anger.

The center clone once again broke the silence. "Now then, the three of me will head back to the village, where I will be waiting. You three can return to the village in one hour. Once you return to the village, the test will begin." He then threw two scrolls in front of the Genin. "The two scrolls we posses must be copied, verbatim, onto the two scrolls I have given you three. Once the two new scrolls have been written, bring them to the Jonin briefing house in the center of the village. One of my fellow Jonin will be there waiting for you. You are allowed to use any tactics, jutsus, and weapons necessary to obtain the information within our scrolls. This test goes much easier if you three try to take the scrolls from me. If you are able to do that, then you can just turn in the original scroll. The two of you who bring back the two scrolls will be promoted to Genin."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sakura angrily interjected. "What do you mean the two of us? You mean one of us is guaranteed to fail?"

"If that's how you want to look at, yes. But on the other hand, the odds are greatly in favor of none of you passing."

Sakura slumped down to the ground, her face of confident arrogance turned into demoralized defeat. _I'm doomed. I may be smarter than those two but Sasuke and Sakamishi __are__ more skilled overall. There's no way I'm going to get to the scrolls before they do._

Kratos then put the scroll away and the three clones turned to walk back to the village. The left clone turned his head back towards the students. "Oh, and a little piece of advice: if you're not willing to kill us, don't even bother trying to gain the scroll's information by force."

The three clones left the students to ponder on what they were going to do. "How do they expect us to kill Jonin?" Sakura shouted to the sky, yet rhetorically to the two boys. "We're not even technically Genin yet, and to top it, Kratos-sensei is an ANBU!"

"If we team up on each one though," Sakashimi suggested, "it will make it much easier for us to obtain the information on the scrolls. One of us could distract him by fighting, using non-lethal force to avoid a fatal retaliation, and the other two could try and steal the sc..."

"I don't need you two to get those scrolls," Sasuke shrugged as he began to walk back.

"Yeah Sakashimi. Plus, only two of us are going to pass, so we just became rivals. It's every man for himself at this point, sorry," Sakura said as she walked in a separate path than Sasuke. "I guess we'll see you back in Konoki."

Sakashimi just waited in the clearing as Sakura and Sasuke left for their own plans. _Sorry Dad, I guess the old ways are dying. Shinobi are putting themselves above the mission._ He grabbed some manriki chains and wrapped a set around each of his arms. He then tied kunai into the ends of each chain. _I don't care what they say. I'm going to help them get the scrolls whether or not they want me to. If they're not willing to put the mission before themselves, then I will. Don't worry Dad; the old ways are still preserved. I will fail and remain a student so that my teammates can become Genin like they want._

Chapter 3: Unexpected Reinforcements!

* * *

The three clones met back in the Jonin briefing room, planning how this round was going to be handled. The scrolls traded hands and the two new holders began writing. As they wrote, Kratos' ANBU leader, Akari, entered the briefing room. "There you are Kratos. I was wondering if. . ." Upon seeing three shadow clones, she new exactly what her Lieutenant was up to. "Don't tell me you're in charge of another team of Genin."

"Of course. Who else do you think Kage Goven would choose to weed out the weak?" The unoccupied clone stated.

"What do you mean weed out the weak? Did you even tell them of your passing rate; or lack there of!" Akari was growing very displeased with her highest ranking officer not passing even one squad out of a possible 723 Genin. "Konoki needs new Genin for D-missions, so our more experienced Genin can move on to C-missions and even become Chunin."

One of the clones chuckled to himself thinking about one of Kratos' earlier comments. "What's so funny?" Kratos sternly asked.

"Oh nothing. I just thought your comment, 'if you're not willing to kill us, don't even bother trying to gain the scroll's information by force,' was funny. Do you actually expect them to attack us?"

"As long as they attack as a squad, I don't care if they actually get the scrolls or not. It's just no squad has realized that yet. Since they think only two of them are going to pass, they quickly turn on their friends and go solo."

Kratos was right about his new squad. Just like the 241 squads that had come before them, Sakura and Sasuke were going alone in this test. The hour was nearly up and the three Genin were almost ready to enter the village in search of their sensei. Back in the briefing room, Kratos was finishing the final touches for the test. "Akari, are all of the ANBU on patrol today?"

"Yeah, were haven't planned any assaults for today, other than a few minor Jonin attacks."

"Good. Alright you two, let's make this interesting for once." Unlike past tests, where all three clones had dressed in the same garb, Kratos planned on making three versions. One of his clones would remain masked and would keep on his cowl. The other clone would also remain masked but wouldn't wear the cowl, just the ANBU armor. Kratos himself would wear his ANBU armor, but instead of wearing his ANBU mask, he wore his Jonin mask and headband. Then to make the game even more interesting, he himself would carry both scrolls. At 10:30, the game would begin.

It was time to enter the village. Sasuke entered from the North Gate, while Sakura entered from the South Gate. Sakashimi followed Sakura into through the South Gate, but quickly took to the rooftops. He felt Sakura needed help first, and Sasuke was so adamant about going solo he would refuse any help Sakashimi offered. Kratos and his clones simply walked threw the crowds, which were filled with patrolling ANBU members that were used as bait to lure any enemy to use paths that seemed secret and covert, but were actually filled with awaiting ANBU members. Kratos' cloaked clone walked with seven other cloaked ANBU in hopes that the Genin would not be able to pick him out; he was wrong. No more than five minutes into the test he heard a sound he wasn't prepared for. It was the sound of birds, screaming birds. Not just a few birds either, it was the sound of…one thousand birds! "There's no way a Genin-elect could no that mo…" Before he could even finish his sentence it was too late. "Lightning Edge!" Sasuke screamed as he plunged his chakra charged hand into his sensei's back. In a cloud of smoke, the clone disappeared. Before that even happened, however, the other six ANBU members had Sasuke in submission. "Damn it was just a clone! And he didn't even have a scroll." As Sasuke was pinned to the ground, the ANBU leader, dressed in a white cowl, walked up to him to confront him. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" She asked as she lowered her hood.

"I'm sorry, my sensei is testing me and I was using…"

"Oh I see. You're one of Kratos' students. I'm impressed kid, not many Genin can use that move you just used that successfully. If any other Genin had tried to use that move, we would have all be able to catch it. You have amazing skill to do it before we could react.

"Thank you ma'am, but I have to find the other two Kratos before Sakura and Sakashimi."

"Hey before we let you go, what is your name?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha, and I will rebuild my clan, no matter what."

"Well Sasuke Uchiha, tell Kratos that Akari has promoted you to Genin for the remainder of this test."

"Uh, ok. Thank you."

_Wow Sakura, you're right on top of him. Calm down and get ready to strike. I bet he thinks he was clever taking off his cowl. I can see threw his ploy, I could pick that mask out of any sized crowd._ Being as skilled as she was with weapons, Sakura knew her only hope to attack him would be four well placed kunai thrown into his back. She reached into her pockets to grab her knives, but before she could strike she heard an unsettling voice. "Fire style! Fireball jutsu!" _NO! Why'd Sakash__im__i have to find him too? I can't compete against Sakashi__mi__ right now. I guess I'll go find another clone and hope Sasuke hasn't gotten to him first._ As Sakura turned to go find another clone, she heard that same unsettling voice, but the words it spoke were not what she expected to hear. "Now Sakura! You have to strike him now while he's focused on my jutsu!" Sakashimi instructed as Kratos' clone tried protecting himself from the flames. Sakura hesitated for a minute, but didn't think twice about attacking. With amazing precision for a Genin, she placed for kunai on the corners of Kratos' clone's back. The clone fell to the ground and Sakura instinctively jump down to help him. By the time she got there, however, the clone disappeared into a cloud of smoke. "Great job Sakura, I knew you could do it," Sakashimi praised as he searched the ground.

"Thanks Sakashimi, but why'd you help me?"

"My father raised me in the old way of the shinobi: to put the mission and your teammates' well-being above your own selfish gains. As I meditated in the forest, I had a long talk with my father."

"Your father? Is he dead or something?"

"Actually, my whole family is no longer with me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sakura blushed at her obviously insensitive blunder.

"It's ok, my father's body may no longer be with me, but his spirit will always be with me. I always talk to him while I meditate, for guidance. During our talk today, I decided to help you and Sasuke get the scrolls, so that the two of you could pass."

"Wow Sakashimi, that's incredibly loyal of you." After a moment of positive reflection, Sakura came to her own decision. "You know Sakashimi, let's both help Sasuke get the scrolls. He can have them both. He obviously needs to be a Genin as soon as possible to help restore his clan."

Sakashimi nodded in agreement as he continued to search the ground. "What are you looking for Sakashimi?" Sakura asked as she helped him look, for something out of the ordinary.

"I'm looking for one of the scrolls. When the clone disappeared the scroll should have been all that remained since it wasn't just chakra."

"Maybe this clone didn't have one."

"That can't be. The clone Sasuke destroyed didn't have a scroll either."

"Wait, you've already seen Sasuke?"

"Yeah, I followed you in to the village, but I saw Sasuke hot on the trail of someone so I chose to follow him. He destroyed the clone in one hit with his Lightning Edge jutsu."

"Wow, he's perfected that jutsu already? He just started practicing it a few days ago."

"I guess so. Alright we've wasted enough time talking and have to go help Sasuke. The real Kratos-sensei will be faster and stronger than both of his clones, and he's going to have both scrolls."

"Do you think Sasuke will fight him?"

"I would never expect Sasuke to simply do reconnaissance when violence is an option. We have to hurry."

Sakura and Sakashimi had less time than they thought. As they were leaving their current position to go find Sasuke, Kratos was already on the defense, deflecting Sasuke's Lightning Edge jutsu. "Very nice Sasuke, I would have never expected an academy student, or even a Genin for that matter, to master that particular jutsu in such a short amount of time. But it's going to take more than that to beat me. How did you even know it was me?"

"I noticed that red stripe across your right eye is the same stripe on the mask you were wearing earlier," Sasuke responded as he took a defensive stance.

Kratos prepared a fireball jutsu but Sasuke caught his hand signs and prepared his own jutsu. "Fireball jutsu!" Both shinobi released their jutsu at the precise moment. Kratos' was of a much higher level and soon over powered Sasuke's. Sasuke was knocked into a surrounding wall. He seemingly played dead as Kratos approached him. "Sorry kid, you just don't have what it takes to damage me." As he walked towards Sasuke, Kratos made a fatal mistake: he did not watch Sasuke's hands. As Kratos talked, Sasuke prepared another jutsu. "Corruption!" Kratos was trapped. Sasuke's jutsu was a direct hit and Kratos was slowly being driven mad.

Sakura and Sakashimi came to the scene to see their sensei huddled over in insanity as Sasuke prepared his kunai for a final blow; he truly was ready to kill his sensei. "Sakura, you wait here and provide ranged support. I have to go stop Sasuke from killing Kratos-sensei." Sakura agreed and waited on a nearby rooftop, a kunai in each hand.

Sasuke thought he had Kratos right where he wanted him, but a Jonin of Kratos' abilities wasn't going to be stopped by a Genin level jutsu. With more difficulty than he originally thought, he formed hand seals for his defensive jutsu. "Release!" He released the genjutsu that had hold of him in just enough time to prepare some taijutsu. "First Gate, open! Fury of the White Tiger jutsu!" Before Sakashimi could use his manriki chains to grab a hold of Sasuke, Kratos unleashed the most powerful taijutsu of Konoki to attack Sasuke. With a twenty-four hit jutsu, Kratos nearly incapacitated Sasuke. As Sasuke fell to the ground, Sakashimi rushed to help him. "Don't worry Sasuke, I'll protect you." Sakashimi jumped in front of him to protect him, but Sasuke had enough energy to reject Sakashimi's help. "No! I don't need you help." _That fool__. I guess he really isn't ready to pass._ Kratos thought to himself as he went into a more conservative defensive stance to rebuild his chakra and stamina from his last attack.

As Kratos and Sakashimi stood across from each other in defensive stances, Sakura noticed a very important detail about her sensei: the two scrolls were tied to his hip. Using her precise kunai skill, she was able to cut the scrolls loose without Kratos noticing until the kunai landed in front of him. Sakashimi saw what Sakura had done. Kratos looked back to see where his attacker was. To draw his attention, Sakura ran right at him, kunai in hand, so that Sakashimi could grab the scrolls.

"I'm impressed Sakura I didn't think you had the guts to attack such a powerful opponent," Kratos gloated as Sakashimi grabbed the scrolls and handed them to Sasuke. "Here Sasuke, you need these more than Sakura and I."

"Impressive, I didn't expect this group to get the scrolls." Kratos had not given up and charged at Sasuke, but Sakura and Sakashimi jumped in front of him to protect him.

"If you want Sasuke you're going to have to go through us," Sakura threatened. "Now Sasuke, go to the checkpoint and turn in the scrolls, pass the test."

Sasuke was overwhelmed by the fact that Sakura and Sakashimi sacrificed their rank to help him. Kratos had lost his head in the fight and began to treat his students as actually enemies. "How admirable of you two. I hope you realize that I can go through you with ease. Those scrolls are mine!" He charged at Sakura, with a fully charged Lightning edge ready. "You are going to pay for you arrogance!" Sakura closed her eyes and prepared for impact. But rather than feeling the cold hand of death, she heard a deathly noise; she heard the sound of two thousand birds dying. She looked up to see Sasuke in front of her. "If you want Sakura, you're going to have to go through me."

Sasuke had blocked Kratos' Lightning Edge with his own. The three Genin now stood side by side prepared to defend against any foe. "If you attack one of us, you attack all of us," Sasuke announced. "That's right," Sakura and Sakashimi said in unison. "Is that so?" Kratos asked in a rhetorical tone. "How honorable. You all stand together, you all fight together, and you will all die together!" Kratos rushed the trio, a stare of death in his eyes. "It's a shame it has to end here!"

Chapter 4: Enter the Hushino Squad!

* * *

As Kratos rushed towards his three students, ready to strike a fatal blow to each of them, Sakura, Sasuke, and Sakashimi prepared for the worst. They were ready to die as a squad, as a single entity. "It's over!" Kratos shouted as he jumped into the air. The three braced for impact, but were completely caught off guard by their sensei's next move. "You pass," Kratos whispered from behind Sakashimi. The Genin couldn't believe their ears. "What do you mean we passed?" Sakura asked as she lowered her guard in utter shock.

"You passed. I can't make it anymore clear."

"I don't understand," Sakashimi angrily questioned. "We didn't gather any information from the scrolls and you nearly destroyed Sasuke before he could even lay a hand on you."

"I know you didn't, it's impossible for Genin to try to steal from me without me finding out. That's not the point of the test. I put you in to an impossible mission in hopes of tearing you apart. A squad must be loyal to each other, no matter what the circumstances."

"Oh I see," Sakura chimed. "You told us that only two of us would pass just so we would compete against each other, not against you as a team."

"Very good Sakura. You see, no other squad before you has ever come to this realization during the test. Even now, I am reluctant to pass one of you." The three Genin just looked at each other with confusion. "Sasuke-chan!" Kratos shouted, making Sasuke snap out of his confusion. "When you realized that there may have been a chance that you would not pass this test, and therefore remain a student, you quickly abandoned your teammates." Sasuke looked down in shame, but said nothing. "You missed the point of this test completely. Once you saw that Sakashimi and Sakura were willing to give their lives for yours, you finally worked with them as a team." Sasuke got a gleam in his eye, thinking he had passed. But his dream was cut short by Kratos' next words. "I'm sorry Sasuke, but you are not ready to take on missions with a team. I'm going to have to send you back to the academy."

_It can't end here!_ Sasuke thought, in deniable about what he had just heard. "I'm sorry Sasuke," Sakashimi said trying to comfort Sasuke. "Your skills are remarkable, and it has been a honor training with you."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered to herself, whishing it was not true.

"I know you don't want to accept it Sasuke. But my decision is final."

Sasuke began walking away, defeated and discouraged. Suddenly, he remembered a fact that would soon become his trump card. "Wait Kratos-sensei! I have a message from Akari-sama."

"Akari-sama? When did you meet my squad leader?"

"One of your clones kept its cloak on and walked in a group with you squad mates. I attacked it with my Lightning Edge jutsu and it couldn't defend against it. Akari-sama wanted me to tell you that she was so impressed by my abilities that she promoted me to Genin."

"Is that so? Well unfortunately for you, your fate rested in my ha…"

Before Kratos could finish, Akari appeared behind him. "Come on Kratos," she mewed, seemingly trying to seduce him. "You know his abilities are amazing. He's a fast learner, I'm sure he can figure out the importance of teamwork soon enough. These three are going to go far, but only if you keep them together."

Kratos was left speechless, just staring at the three Genin. Then with a smirk on his face he finally spoke. "You see kids, that is why Akari is an ANBU leader. She was able to steal your fate from me Sasuke. I guess I have no choice but to pass you. But I'm not happy with it, and I going to be toughest on you to make up for it."

Sasuke just stared back, holding back some tears. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kratos and Akari nodded to each other and disappeared in an instant. The three Genin were left alone to celebrate. "Cha! That's what I'm talking about," Sakura shouted victoriously. "We are going to be unstoppable."

"Don't get cocky Sakura," Sasuke sneered. "Being a shinobi will be much harder than this test, and Sakashimi and I won't always be there to protect you."

"Hey, don't attack Sakura like that," Sakashimi proclaimed, defending Sakura like a brother. "She isn't the one that passed this test on a technicality." Sasuke seemed like he had been hit by a low blow. "I'm sorry Sasuke. We're a team now and I shouldn't have…"

"It's alright Sakashimi. I had no right to snap at Sakura like that. Sakura-kun, please forgive me."

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I no have stressed you must be. I have no idea how hard it must be to not have had any parents growing up." The boys both lost themselves in thought, and Sakura realized how she must have hurt them. _Way to go Sakura, you already managed to get on your teammates' bad sides and you haven't even gone on a mission yet._

Then Sakashimi and Sasuke both smiled at Sakura and she felt at ease that they had forgiven her for her thoughtless comment. They just nodded to each other and began walking home. "Right, let's get ready for our first mission tomorrow. We're going to have to be at our best if we want to succeed," Sasuke proclaimed as the trio marched as a single unit through the heart of the village, ready and willing for whatever tasks that lied before them.

Chapter 5: The Hushino Squad Takes on Their First Mission!

* * *

Sakura, Sakashimi, and Sasuke met inside Kage Goven's office, where all missions are given out. Kratos had told them to meet him there bright and early so they could get started. The Genin had arrived at seven in the morning. It was now a quarter to noon. "CHA! Where is he now?" Sakura demanded, nearly throwing her chair at the Kage. "Patience Sakura-chan," Goven commanded. "Trust in your sensei. He will be here…" Just as Kage Goven finished his sentence, Kratos appeared behind his pupils. "Well Kage, what's our mission?"

"What?" spouted Sakura. "You meet us five hours late and think everything's ok?"

"It's not very honorable for a sensei to be tardy more often than his students," Sakashimi added.

"I'm sorry," Kratos apologized. "It's just that I'm not used to having students and I had other tasks at hand."

"Other tasks? You told us to meet here. How could you forget your own orders?" Sakura questioned.

As Kratos, Sakura, and Sakashimi argued over Kratos' tardiness, Sasuke noticed something unsettling: Kratos had a jagged, blood-soaked blade in his sleeve. He knew that whatever "business" Kratos had to take care of did not bode well for the three Genin.

"Kratos! Children! That's enough!" Goven shouted, snapping Sasuke back into consciousness. "If I'm not mistaken, you four have some missions to complete."

The four shinobi just stood at attention as the Kage handed Kratos some papers. "These will be your missions," he stated. "Try to complete them by nightfall."

The Hushino Squad began walking out of the village as Kratos read his team the first mission. "It seems an elderly woman has lost her cat."

"That's it?" Sakashimi asked.

"That's it."

"This hardly seems like a mission to me."

"That's why it is classified as a D-ranked mission. We give Genin these missions so they can practice teamwork and going on real missions later."

The three just sighed heavily as Kratos began briefing his pupils. "The cat is a mid-sized, orange tabby, likes to hunt mice in the mountain and hang out in the forest, and answers to the name Naruto. Sakashimi, you and Sasuke check the forest while Sakura and I go into the mountains. Meet back here in this clearing in one hour." The mission was set and the two teams went their separate ways.

"Well Sasuke, are you willing to work with me this time?" Sakashimi questioned sarcastically.

"Sorry Sakashimi. It was just…I have a lot of training to do if I ever hope to restore and avenge the Uchiha Clan."

"I understand Sasuke. We are both powerful shinobi who want to become strong and restore their families."

"Yeah…" Sasuke nodded.

"But we can't do it alone."

Sasuke just looked on to the trees in front of him.

"Kratos-sensei is one of the most powerful ninja in the village. And although you don't seem to see it, Sakura-kun is also quite powerful."

"She does have more heart than anyone I've ever met."

"We should start looking for that tabby." Sakashimi seemed broken-hearted by Sasuke's comment. Sakashimi had always put his entire heart into everything he did. By saying had more heart than anyone else hit close to home and made Sakashimi doubt his past achievements.

The boys searched high and low for the cat. Sasuke had always had the best eyes in the academy, often seeing things that his sensei had not. Yet, even the eagle-eyed Genin was overshadowed by Sakashimi's tracking skills. Sasuke simply searched the entire area surrounding them for any sign that the cat was still there. Sakashimi analyzed every piece of earth that the duo traversed to see if the cat was ever even in the area.

"Sasuke!" Sakashimi called out as Sasuke climbed a tree for a better viewpoint.

"What is it Sakashimi?"

"There hasn't been a domestic cat in this region for nine days."

"Are you sure? Maybe it just…"

"No. There hasn't been a tabby in these woods for nine days."

"Ok, ok. Why don't you just say a week?"

"Because there has…"

"'There hasn't been a tabby here for nine days.' Fine I get it. Let's just head back to the clearing; it's been nearly an hour anyway."

Sakura and Kratos were not having an easier time on the mountain.

"Aaahhh!" Sakura screamed as she lost her foothold and fell from the sheer mountain side.

As she fell, jagged rocks waiting for her fifty meters down, a chain wrapped around her. "I got you Sakura." Kratos had used a Manriki chain infused with chakra to lasso Sakura and reel her back to safety.

"Thanks Kratos-sensei. I guess I haven't had enough traini…" Then Sakura saw something that she couldn't quite grasp. "Oh my God! Kratos-sensei, you're clinging to the mountain without using your hands!"

"Yeah, I needed both hands for this so I just, uh, concentrated chakra at the souls of my feet, and, well I should probably get you to safety first."

"Yeah, thanks. That's probably a good idea."

Kratos reeled Sakura in and continued climbing to the nearest plateau. When he reached the first cliff on that side of the mountain he was very happy to find a cave. Then he had an epiphany. "Alright Sakura, here's the plan. Rather than have the two of us chase down that hairball factory, I'm going to teach you a skill that will be more useful than animal retrieval."

Sakura's eyes lit up like a super nova. "That would be great Kratos-sensei. I'm your lump of clay; mold me." Sakura had felt that she was miles behind Sakashimi and Sasuke since the first day she knew they would be on a team together. She would give anything to be on equal terms with them.

"Alright Sakura, follow me," Kratos instructed as he walked into the cave. "Now, try concentrating your chakra at the bottoms of your feet." Kratos was amazed at how fast Sakura had been able to complete the first step. In fact, she had been able to do so on her first try. _Her chakra control is amazing._ Kratos thought to himself as Sakura stopped funneling chakra._ I have to get her into the medical core._

"What's next Kratos-sensei?" Sakura asked, snapping Kratos out of his daze.

"What? Oh, right. Um, now using your concentrated chakra, place your foot on the side of the cave wall. Then, lock your chakra in place and you can cling to the wall."

Sakura followed Kratos' instructions, and was able to cling horizontally to the wall on her first try, for a few seconds anyway. She lost her concentration and fell to the ground with a thud. "Ow! What do I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Kratos told her, trying to keep her reassured. "You just need to make sure your chakra flow is constant. You must concentrate on turning you and the wall into one entity."

"Alright sensei, I'll keep practicing."

"Good. Then while you're doing that, I'll go check to see if that cat is even on the mountain."

Kratos vanished up the side of the mountain, and Sakura continued practicing. She was doing quite well, being able to take a few steps before falling off. Her goal: to hang on the cave's ceiling by the time Kratos returned. She fell on her back for the seventh time, but this time she wasn't alone.

"Aww, did the wittle girl fall down?" a mysterious voice said from behind her.

"Who are you?" Sakura looked back at her guest.

"Nobody special. I'm just Ares Nakamora from the Village hidden in Shroud. Ya know, it's not safe for a young woman such as yourself to be alone on this mountain. Especially whenyou run into an enemy assassin."

Before she could say anything, Sakura was attacked by Ares. Using four kunai, he tried to pin her to the ground. Sakura, however, deflected all four using her Manriki chains.

"Well, it looks like this little mouse has some fangs," Ares said with a snicker.

"You made a big mistake. You'll never finish your mission. I'll make sure of it." Sakura placed a kunai at the end of her chain and charged Ares, spinning the blade around. As she went to make her move she was completely overwhelmed. Using his speed, Ares hit Sakura with one, chakra infused punch. Sakura was stopped in her tracks and fell to the ground, coughing up blood.

"Wow pinky, you sure showed me," Ares laughed. "I guess I should kill you now, since you know too much. But then again, it wouldn't be much of a challenge. Ok, your choice: quick and painless, or slow and satisfying?" Sakura was left speechless on the ground, struggling to get back on her feet. "Good choice," Ares chuckled, Sakura having not made a choice at all, "slow and satisfying is a lot better."

Ares threw a shuriken into the air and just let it fall into Sakura's back. She screamed bloody murder, but Ares just laughed and continued to throw shuriken into the air. Three more fell into her back, forming a square with other one. "Now we're going to get fancy," Ares said with an arrogant smile. "Five shuriken, to form an "X" on your back. Remember, "X" marks the spot. That's where I'll make the final attack. In fact, I'll be nice and hit you with the "X" and my finishing jutsu at the same time. So you will only feel one immense pain, rather than two agonizing pains."

Ares threw the five shuriken into the air and then jumped up with them, making hand signs in the air. "Final Assault Jutsu: Tens Thousand Years of Death!" Ares called out as thousands of needles began to form around him from his chakra.

_No, I can't move. _Sakura continued to struggle on the ground, blood running down her sides. _I'll never be able to see Sasuke again. Why? Why does it have to end this way? _She saw the kunai begin their decent, and she knew she only had seconds left. _Good-bye…Sasuke-kun._ One tear ran down Sakura's cheek. "Sasuke-kun!"

"Lightning Edge: One Thousand Birds!" Sakura knew that voice, the voice of her guardian angel.

Chapter 6: New Mission, Kratos-sensei's True Power Revealed!

* * *

Sasuke ran into the cave and propelled off the wall, taking out the shuriken and hitting Ares out of the air. The chakra needles disappeared and Ares slammed into the wall. Sakashimi ran in afterwards and helped Sakura. "Are you alright, Sakura-kun," he asked as he pulled the shuriken out of her back and placed ointment in her wounds. "Yeah I'm fine Sakashimi, now that you and Sasuke are here."

"Well, picking on a defenseless girl?" Sasuke asked Ares. "What kind of a pathetic ninja are you?"

"Aren't we a mouthy one?" Ares sneered. "For your information, she promised to stop me at any cost and charged me first."

_She attacked him? _Sasuke thought, staring with amazement at the injured Sakura. _Sakashimi was right. Sakura is more powerful than I give her credit for. Her bravery is incredible._

"I'm sorry if I hurt your girlfriend, but I can't allow anyone to stop me from my mission. I must find and eliminate a Missing-Nin who belongs to Konoki now."

"We can't let you get away with that. Sakashimi, I'm going to need some help if this guy's a Hunter-Nin."

"But I'm with Sakur…"

"Don't worry about Sakura, she's tough, she'll be alright," Sasuke said, smiling at Sakura.

Sakura just blushed and smiled back at him. She was ecstatic that Sasuke was finally noticing her and her abilities. "Thank you…Sasuke-kun," she whispered. Sakashimi jumped next to Sasuke and they prepared to take on Ares.

"I don't have time for this boys. So since you two will be fighting as a team, I'll just call for my team. Kurosaki! Teminaru! Sosame!" Three more Shroud shinobi jumped next to Ares. "This is my team of Hunter-Nin."

Kurosaki and Teminaru were fraternal twins. They were wearing full grey cloaks and kept their hoods down. Kurosaki had longer than his sister but spiked it up. Teminaru wore her hair straight down. Sosame wore a black cloak with her hood up, revealing just her face and bangs. Her beauty was amazing, and was actually one of her greatest weapons. All four Shroud ninja were Jonin, and Sakashimi new that. "Sasuke, there's no way we can beat them," he whispered to Sasuke.

"Of course you can't," Teminaru said. "We are the Shroud Four. There is no way we are going to be beaten by a couple of brats like you."

"Then what about me?"

Sasuke and Sakashimi were relieved by the voice they heard. It was Kratos, cat in hand. He walked over to Sakura and placed the cat next to her. "Sakashimi talk care of Sakura and the cat," he ordered. "Here is some medicine for their wounds, the cat's pretty beat up too." He handed Sakashimi a vile of some strange liquid that he had never seen before. "Sasuke, guard those three with your life. I'll take on these four." He stood up and began walking toward the Shroud Four as Sasuke jumped back to protect Sakura, Sakashimi, and the cat. "Oh and good news," he said looking back and winking, "you three are now part of an A-ranked mission."

The Genin were excited to part of such a high ranking mission, but were worried about their sensei. Especially when Ares spoke next. "You have a lot of guts Kratos. I can't believe you would actually show your face to Shroud's greatest hunting squad."

"I would be scared if you guys were an actual threat."

"That's some pretty big talk from a Missing-Nin!"

Sasuke couldn't believe it. Kratos was the Missing-Nin they were looking for. Sasuke knew Missing-Nin are immediately hunted down after they leave a village so they can't take the village's secrets with them. But he thought Kratos had lived in Konoki all of Sasuke's life. _Why would they wait so long to come after him__? Is he hiding something from us?_

"I'm glad they sent you four out to get me," Kratos smirked. "Now I get to use all four jutsu in battle!"

Sasuke and Sakashimi both looked at each other in excitement. They were about to see the amazing skills of their ANBU sensei. Kratos put together three hand signs and a blade of shadows appeared in his left hand. Next he streamed together more hand signs. "Which of you guys has is the best at weapons combat?" "That would be me," Ares answered.

"Good." Kratos finished his hand signs. "Lance of the Blue Dragon!" A long lance made of chakra stretched from his blade and with incredible speed, pierced Ares' heart, killing him instantly. "Alright, who's next."

The newly formed Shroud Three just stared angrily at Kratos. They were going to avenge the murder of their leader. "We won't let you get away with your transgressions!" Teminaru shouted, as her and her brother charged it to attack. Kratos performed more hand signs, and Sasuke recognized them immediately.

"Sakashimi, I know that jutsu. Kratos-sensei used it on me during the Genin test."

"Are you sure?" Sakashimi asked as he and Sakura both prepared to witness the amazing jutsu.

"I'm positive. It's called…"

"Ultimate Taijutsu: Fury of the White Tiger!" Kratos shouted as he opened up the First Chakra Gate. His speed increased five fold. He attacked Teminaru and Kurosaki from four directions simultaneously, sending them into the air.

"This isn't the same jutsu he used on me," Sasuke whispered to himself in a worried tone.

Kratos opened up the Second and Third Gates and put all his force into two kicks that sent Kurosaki and Teminaru flying to the bottom of the cave. They created a giant crater when they struck the ground. They were bludgeoned, bloody, and could barely move, but they were still alive.

"Ple-…please…spare us…" Kurosaki said as he lied dying with his sister.

"I'd offer you mercy…," Kratos said looking down into the crater at his next two victims. "But the son of Tyranid offers no one mercy!" Kratos completed another set of hand signs. "Feathers of Suzaku: Crimson Death!" Thousands of feathers appeared above the crater. "Give my regards to Mozinaki…when you meet him in Hell!" The feathers descended upon the twins, exploding on impact, making the crater even larger.

"And then there was one," Kratos announced, staring at Sosame, death filling his gaze.

"Please Kratos…I beg of you…"

"Begging gets you nothing."

"But Kratos, remember when…"

"You have no idea how badly I've wanted to use this jutsu on you." Kratos finished off one last set off hand signs. "Wisdom of the Black Tortoise: Never-Ending Death!"

The three Genin looked in horror as Sosame screamed in agony. Kratos was destroying her from the inside out. Sosame fell to the ground, holding her head in pain. "Stop! Please Kratos! No more!" She howled, but it was too late, Kratos was lost in the jutsu. Blood began to run from Sosame's ears, then from her nose, and finally from her eyes. Sakura had seen enough; "Kratos-sensei!" She ran up to her sensei and hugged him from the back. "No more, please stop! She doesn't deserve this!"

Kratos snapped out his daze. He felt Sakura grabbing him, and he could feel her pain. He looked around the cave. Carnage and destruction filled his gaze. _No, father…What have I become? What have you made me…?_ He passed out and fell to the ground. Sakura and the boys ran to catch him, but he was out cold. "Kratos-sensei? Kratos-sensei? Kratos-sama!"

Chapter 7: Kratos-sensei's Past is Out!

* * *

Kratos woke up two days later, lying motionless in a hospital bed. He could barely move any muscle in his body, and his memory of the events that transpired on the mountain two days prior were nothing more than an angry blur. For what seemed like hours, he sat lifelessly in his bed, no life passing by his room. In reality, he had only been awake for ten minutes before two people entered his room. "You've really done it now Kratos-san," a woman said as she began working on the various pieces of life support attached to Kratos. Then a man walked into the room behind her. "We've warned you before; never open more than the First Chakra Gate, or suffer the physical ramifications."

Kratos could recognize the two voices. It was his two superiors in the medical corps: Reika Nakamora and Ayake Senji. Reika was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties. She had long blonde hair that she kept in a ponytail, dark blue eyes, and a body that would make any man turn to putty in her hands. Most of the time she was incredibly sweet, always helping those in need, even as a child. When crossed, however, she would use her super-human strength and extensive knowledge of jutsu to straighten everybody out.

Ayake seemed to be her polar opposite. He was an older man at 49. He wasn't handsome by any standards; his face was riddled with scars and war-torn from battles of old. His emotions had left his soul years ago and he only became a Medical-Nin because it helped make the village more efficient.

Both Reika and Ayake were the most experienced Medical-Nin in the entire corps, and Kratos realized one thing: he had to be in the intensive care units. "What happened to me Reika?" he finally managed to say.

"You took it too far again with your four jutsus," she said as she replaced his IV bag.

"How many Gates did I open this time?"

"Five," Ayake interjected. "In fact, if it wasn't for your students, you never would have made it out of those mountains alive."

"Oh, and I know how much you like to keep your face concealed, so I took the liberty of placing your Jonin mask and cap back on," Reika said with a smile

"Thanks Reika. You know me too well," Kratos managed to push out. Then he came to a terrifying conclusion. "My student's? What happened to them? Where are they?"

"Relax Kratos-san," Reika cooed as she fluffed his pillow. "They have been in the waiting room every day waiting for you. Would you like me to send them in?"

"If that's alright with them."

Reika went to the waiting room to pick up the kids while Ayake continue to check on Kratos' condition. "So…how long…will I be here?"

"If you're lucky, ten days. But I doubt even you could get of here in less than two weeks."

"What will happen to my Genin?"

"They will be placed under the care of Akari, your squad leader."

"And what about Gouryoku? I can't just leave him home…"

Just then, a large black blur ran into the room and jumped into the air. Kratos was unable to defend himself from the impending attack. "Gouryoku stop, down boy!" Kratos' wolf Gouryoku had jumped into bed with him and was relentlessly licking his face. The loyal canine had been alone for two days and was ecstatic to see his master once again.

"He really is a lovable mutt, isn't he Kratos-sensei?" a small voice said from the doorway.

"Ah, Sakura-chan. It's good to see you guys."

"Were just glad you're okay," Sakashimi said, walking into the room.

"You have no idea how grateful I am that you guys did this for me," Kratos said as he held back some tears.

"Don't go crying on us Kratos-sensei," Sasuke sneered from the window. "We can't have our brave leader losing his cool on us."

"Young man, get out of that window!" Ayake demanded. "If you want to visit, just go through the door like everybody else."

"Sorry sir."

The four Hushino squad mates caught up with the events that had transpired, helping Kratos remember what he had done in the cave. Sakura had a chilling tone in her voice, much like a child who had just seen a ghost. The boys seemed to be disheartened by their sensei's actions. Kratos himself was deeply disturbed that he had lost control…again. He tried to lighten the mood by switching the subject.

"So, how has Gouryoku been in my absence?"

"He's been a perfect wittle angel," Sakura mused while shaking the wolf's snout, while Gouryoku just lied next to his healing master.

"Why didn't you tell us you were a ninken trainer?" Sasuke asked.

"It was on my list of things I was going to tell you guys this week. You see I belong to three major groups: The Konoki Shadow ANBU Squad, the Elite Ninken Training Force, and the Konoki Medical Corps."

Sasuke and the others were quite impressed by their sensei's credentials.

"Wow, that's quite a résumé Kratos-sensei," Sakashimi stated.

"You must have been through a lot in your life," Sasuke wondered.

"Sasuke-san, you have no idea."

At that point, visiting hours were nearly over, and Ayake came in to tell the Genin just that.

"I'm sorry you three, but visiting hours are nearly over for the IC Unit."

"Ayake!" Kratos shouted with all the strength he could muster to catch Ayake as he turned to leave. "Allow Gouryoku and Sasuke to stay with me a little longer."

"Well, arrangements have been made to allow Gouryoku to stay with you and act as your body guard. But I can only give Sasuke one more hour."

"Fair enough. Sakura, Sakashimi thank you again. I hope to see you two again tomorrow."

"Try to keep us away," Sakashimi laughed as he and Sakura left the room.

A deathful silence filled the room. Kratos was mustering the strength to talk to Sasuke, while Sasuke himself was on pins and needles waiting for Kratos to speak. After what seemed like an hour, Kratos finally spoke.

"Sasuke, I know you're a very intelligent Genin, probably one of the smartest out of all the Genin. I know you understood who the Shroud Four were."

"They were Hunter-Nin. They said you were a Missing-Nin and you had to be eliminated."

"That is true. But one thing you probably haven't realized yet…is that I am not a former ninja of Shroud."

Sasuke was not very shocked. He had noticed the "Ω" symbol on Kratos' headband and knew it wasn't Shroud's. He was more intrigued by why four Shroud shinobi had been hunting his sensei.

"My father started a small hidden village, just outside the village of Shine. It was the Omega Village. And Tyranid Hushino, my father, was its Kage."

"So does that mean you're in line for the title of Kage in the Omega village?"

"I would be, if my father would allow it. You see, he assumed command of the village to make sure his dream was realized: to make a hidden village so powerful, all other village would be at its mercy. Omega never had many shinobi. In fact, only 27 shinobi have ever garnered this headband."

"How did your father expect to create a strong village with so little shinobi?"

"Rather than create strength in numbers, he wanted to train shinobi to become individual armies."

Sasuke was left speechless by that comment. He couldn't fathom an individual ninja being strong enough to take on an entire army by itself.

"My father, to this day, remains invincible. No other shinobi has the strength to defeat him. In fact the Kage of the Six Great Villages, along with their top ten Jonin, attacked my father all at once. He didn't receive one wound, and not one of their lives were spared."

"Th…that's…impossible. I thought they were killed in the Great War."

"No. That was just the most convenient cover-up. In fact, the Kage didn't tell their villages that they were attacking my father. They all said they were going to negotiate a peace treaty. The villages all just assumed the negotiations had broken down, and the war became even more violent."

Sasuke began to look like someone had stabbed him in the heart with a rusted knife.

"I was born five years after the Great War. I was to be my father's greatest warriors. When I was three, he marked my entire body with a large seal, which would be released when he saw fit. When my mother realized what he planned to do with me, she confronted him. My mother was one of the nine shinobi that belonged to the village at that time, the top warrior in my father's army. She too, however, was not strong enough to kill him. Using all four of his forbidden jutsu…he killed my mother."

"What?! What kind of a monster is he?"

"The worst kind Sasuke. The four jutsu you saw me use back in the cave, those were the forbidden jutsu that my father taught his shinobi. Once learned, the shinobi would become one of the most powerful ninja on the planet. Once mastered, the ninja would become invincible. My father never allowed anyone else to master the jutsu, out of fear that they would overtake his throne."

"So you haven't mastered those jutsu yet?"

"Actually, that's why I am here. See, the seal my dad had placed on me didn't last long. It was supposed to teach my body the four jutsu while I was a child, that way I could use them as soon as I began to train as a shinobi."

"Is that even possible?"

"Very possible. The only problem that my father didn't foresee was that my body ended up absorbing the seal."

"It absorbed the seal?"

"Yes. And within my body, the four jutsu took control. I could use the initial stages of both Fury of the White Tiger and Lance of the Blue Dragon by the time I was five. My father grew worried that I may master his jutsu and avenge the death of my mother and all of the innocent shinobi that he and his men killed."

"But how did you end up in Konoki."

"One day when I was six, my father took up to the peak of Mount Saiyara. He said 'one day Kratos, my son, this is where you will rule.' But what I didn't realize was that he meant my spirit would live within that mountain…after he killed me." Kratos gripped the sheets very tightly. Sasuke and Gouryoku could both feel the tremendous pain in Kratos' heart. "At that moment, he grabbed my arm and threw me off the side of the mountain. He screamed 'No one will take away my dream! No one!' I fell helplessly through the air. There was nothing I could do. Other than the jutsu, I had no ninja skills. I saw the jagged rocks at the foot of the mountain. They were the teeth of death. As I fell through the air, however, I heard a voice."

Kratos looked out the window and gazed at the stars for quite some time, completely lost in a trance. Sasuke did not know what to say. Anything he could think to say at that moment seemed meaningless.

"It was the voice of my mother. 'Fear not my son. I will never let death take you by your father's hand.' At that point, a mysterious purple chakra enveloped me. It took the shape of an eagle and flew me gently into the nearby forest. When I landed on the ground, I found myself within a pack of wolves."

Sasuke noticed that Gouryoku had looked up at Kratos. _Is it possible that Gouryoku understands what Kratos-sensei is saying?_

"The purple chakra didn't dissipate like you would think it would. Instead, it flowed in to a newborn wolf cub…"

"Gouryoku…"

"Exactly. I new the chakra was my mother's and that she had chosen that wolf cub to be my guardian…my strength!"

"Wait, how is that possible? That was 20 years ago. Gouryoku still seems like a puppy."

It's true that Gouryoku was still overflowing with energy. His tail was creating gale-force winds from him hearing his name so many times.

"I believe it is the work of the chakra. It has slowed Gouryoku's aging process so that we may grow up together. He has always been my source of strength. That is why I have named him Gouryoku ("Gouryoku" means "Herculean strength" in Japanese)."

"Wow, it must be wonderful to always have someone who cares about you," Sasuke said as he began petting the canine. "What's with his eyes?" Sasuke wondered, looking into the dog's pupil-less eyes.

"They are like that when he is in this form."

"He has another form?"

"Other forms."

"He can transform into multiple forms?"

"Of course. But that will have to wait for another time. Sasuke, I have something very important I must ask you."

"Anything Sensei. Please, let me help you."

"I know my father sent those Hunter-Nin after me. Up until know, I think he believed that I had died that day. Somehow, he has caught wind of my existence, and wishes to finish the job. Sasuke, I will no longer be training you in a traditional sense."

"So are you giving up your role as sensei in the village?"

"Not entirely. I am still going to train you, Sakura, and Sakashimi. I just won't be training you for the Chunin exam. You three have amazing skills already, and I will continue to teach you guys everything I know. Sakura has an amazing control over her chakra. It is better than yours and Sakashimi's combined."

_I guess Sakashimi was right. Sakura is a great __shinobi._

"I am going to train Sakura to become a Medical-Nin, to replace me as such."

"So she will handle all injuries in the squad?"

"Exactly. I won't be able to focus on medical problems during our training."

Sasuke began to wonder how great of a Medical-Nin Kratos really was. He was lying in a hospital bed, barely able to move.

"I will also train Sakamishi to become a Ninken trainer. I won't be able to continue training Gouryoku when our training becomes intense. Sakashimi will receive his own dog and will also be in charge of Gouryoku."

Sasuke just continued to listen to Kratos, but was also deep in thought. _If he is trading his roles with us, what does he plan to do? What is he planning on teaching me? It's not like he could train me to be in an ANBU squad, I have to be invited. Besides, there is no training after you become an ANBU, except for general training to improve your skills. What could he be planning?_

"Using my influences in Konoki, I am going to get you into my ANBU squad, under my direct supervision."

_I guess he was going to make me an ANBU._

"This will give us access to all training facilities and resources so I can truly begin your training."

"What is it?"

Kratos took a deep breath. "You are free to reject my offer. I am not forcing you to do anything. Remember that."

Sasuke's heart began to race. He was anxious as to what Kratos could possibly teach him.

"I…I want…I want to teach you…" Gouryoku became restless and jumped onto the floor. Sasuke became just as restless inside, but remained perfectly still, awaiting Kratos' next words. "The Four Forbidden Jutsu of Omega!"

Chapter 8: Finishing Old Business before Starting New Training!

* * *

"I know Ayake," Reika said impatiently. "I do have more medical experience than you."

"I'm sorry Reika; it just seems like you've lost your touch with simpler jutsu."

Ayake and Reika had never seen eye-to-eye during medical crises. The last raid on Current had filled the Konoki medical center to the brim and the planned raids on Shine threatened to fill it past capacity. Ayake wanted to heal patients as quickly as possible so they could leave the hospital. The jutsu he used, however, led to painful recoveries that would still keep the patient out of commission for a few days, even though they would be in stable condition and out of the hospital. Reika believed that if shinobi had to be bedridden for days at a time, it would be best if they could stay in the protection of the medical unit and receive more pleasant treatment. When they entered Kratos' room, Ayake unfortunately got his wish.

"Shadow Binding Jutsu!" Kratos shouted from his ceiling. "Sorry guys, but the two of you should have known that you can't keep me locked up in a room all day." He and Gouryoku dropped from the ceiling. Gouryoku ran over to the window and sat down. Kratos began changing out of his hospital garments and bandages and began putting on his ANBU equipment.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ayake demanded, even though he was in no position to stop Kratos.

"I have some unfinished business I have to take care of."

Reika felt quite stupid for the blunder she had caused. It is not hospital practice to keep patients armor and equipment in the closet in their room; especially not with Kratos. He put on his forearm and shin protectors and grabbed for his katana then Reika tried to reason with him. "Kratos please don't do this." Kratos stopped getting ready but did not respond. "You have blood on your hands Kratos. You killed shinobi of an allied village. You killed them!"

Kratos put his katana into placed and put on his mask. He didn't move after that, seemingly in a trance.

"If you leave now…Konoki will not be able to protect you."

"Konoki can't help me." Then Kratos opened the window and he and Gouryoku jumped outside.

"No Kratos! Don't go!" But it was too late. "Ayake, I think we lost him."

"Should we tell his students?"

"No, not yet. They hold him in too high regards. It might crush them."

Sakura, Sakashimi, and Sasuke had no idea what their sensei had done earlier this morning. Sasuke had not told his squad mates what Kratos had told him; he wasn't even sure he wanted to know. Sakura had prepared a beautiful bouquet of flowers, while Sakashimi had brought some scrolls for meditation. When they arrived at the ICU, their hearts became heavy; especially Sasuke's.

"Reika-san! Ayake-san!" Sakura cried. "What happened? Where's Kratos-sensei?" Reika and Ayake were still caught in Kratos' jutsu.

"He caught us off guard," Ayake stammered. "We've been caught in his Shadow Bind Jutsu all morning."

"Hold on, I'll help you," Sakashimi said as he prepared a releasing jutsu. "Release!" Ayake and Reika had been standing in that position for so long, their bodies could no longer stand up. They both fell to the ground and the Genin ran to their aid.

"Where's Kratos-sama?" Sasuke demanded. "Tell me!" He shouted, shaking Ayake fiercely.

"He…said he…had unfinished business…"

"Sasuke-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakashimi-chan," Reika whispered. "Please, you must find Kratos-san and stop him."

"Where is he?" Sasuke asked, dropping Ayake back on the ground.

"He must be going after Raiyu. You must go to Shroud and find him before Kratos does."

"How do you expect us to do that?" Sakura asked. "We're only Genin."

"That's your trump card. Shroud is generally neutral right now. They wouldn't attack Genin from Konoki. And Raiyu doesn't have the greatest reputation in Shroud; he won't be protected by its citizens."

"Sakura-kun, go get a Medical-Nin and ask them to come help Ayake and Reika," Sasuke ordered. Sakura nodded and ran off. "Sakashimi, we must get Kratos-sama back."

"Kratos…sama?"

"Oh…" _Damn it Sasuke! Don't reveal too much. You'll only worry them._ "I just think of Kratos-sensei as more than just a teacher." _Sakashimi is too clever, and so is Sakura. I'll have to be more careful with what I say._

Sakura returned with two Medical-Nin, and the three Genin ran off to prepare for their new mission.

Kratos and Gouryoku ran through the tree tops towards Shroud. In the time of peace, Kratos didn't want to be seen as suspicious, but he had to get away from Konoki as fast as possible. He and Gouryoku stopped in a large willow tree about three kilometers outside of the Village Hidden in Shroud. "Well Gouryoku, I think we've finally reached Missing-Nin." The wolf just whimpered and put his tail between his legs. Although he was a ninken, a ninja dog, Gouryoku was a very affectionate canine and had formed many bonds in Konoki. One bond in particular was with a young Chunin in Kratos' ANBU squad; Snow Kajin. She was a beautiful young lady who had an eye for Kratos. Though nobody else knew, since he hid his emotions so well, Gouryoku knew that Kratos had feelings for Snow too. Gouryoku had been trained to use scent to use hormones to distinguish others' emotions, and based off of Kratos pheromone levels when he was around Snow; Gouryoku knew that he truly loved her.

"I don't think I'm going to need this form any more Gouryoku," Kratos said as he formed a release hand sign. "I have to admit though; you do have a knack for transformations." Kratos had been using a form that Gouryoku had used to appear human in a mission long ago. Kratos liked the appearance so much, he adopted it as his own, making it harder for his hunters to find him. Now that his training had made him second only to the members of the Omega Village, he no longer had to fear his pursuers, nd could finally return to his true form. "Gouryoku, by now the children have found out that we have left the hospital. They will be coming after us in hopes of stopping me. Please undrstand, I must finish this once and for all. I'm going to need your help for this." Gouryoku perked up and knew exactly what his master was about to ask him.

"Howl...bark...no jutsu!" Gouryoku shouted. The mighty wolf had used a transformation jutsu to assume Kratos' newly believed form. "Kratos-sama, I will head back and put the kids at ease. Will I need another ninken to take my place?"

"It's probably best. Sakashimi and Sasuke are some of the sharpest Genin I have ever seen. If they had more genjutsu training, there's no doubt that they would see right through this plan."

"Don't worry master, have nearly perfected this jutsu," Gouryoku explained as he began stretching. "I look exactly like you, sound exactly like you, feel exactly like you, talk exactly like you do, and I have finally been able to change my smell to that of yours. Even Kachi's ninken squad couldn't recognize me."

"I knew I could count on you Gouryoku. Please get back to the village as quickly as possible. And don't use force...especially on Sasuke."

Back in the village, the Genin finished preparing for their retrieval mission. Sakura got some medicinefrom Reika for the journey, while Sakashimi bought all the necessary equipment and Sasuke finished preparing a strategy to be used. Sakura and Sakashimi met at the North Gate and waited for Sasuke to arrive. "Do you think we're going to get him back, Sakasimi-chan," Sakura asked in a disheartened tone.

"Of course we will Sakura-kun," he said, getting close to Sakura in an efffort to comfort her. "Kratos-sensei really cares about us. If we truly want him back, he will come back us."

"But there is no way we can force him back if he doesn't want to come. He is way too powerful for the three of us."

"But why would he harm us?"

"I don't think he would harm us...but if he could kill four hunter-nin, single-handedly, with only four jutsu, what chanc do we have?"

"Kratos-sensei would never kill us! And even if he attacked us, I would prtect you withmy life Sakura-kun. That is my promise to you!"

"Thank you Sakashimi-kun..."

The two of them sat in silence by the gate asthey waited for Sasuke, while Gouryoku rushed back to the village to intercept them. Sasuke finally arrived at the gate, only to be confused by the cry of Sakura:

"Kratos-snesei! You're back!"

"Hello Sakura. Sakashimi, Sasuke, I'm sorry if I worried you three," Gouryoku said with his head down and souding deeply distressed.

"Kratos-sama?," Sasuke askd as he approached the transformed wolf. "Where did you go? Why did you leave us so soon?"

"I didn't want to scare you three Sasuke. But I had to finish the problem with the Hunter-Nin, once and for all."

"I'm really glad you came back Kratos-sensei," Sakura cooed.

"Where is Gouryoku?" Sakashimi asked.

Gouryoku just stood there, his eyes deep with sorrow. Gouryoku was a terrific actor, and his tranformation were always completely believable. "I'm afraid...there was othing I could do." The three Genin stood in horror of what may have happened. "We were ambushed by a group of Hunter-Nin just outside Shroud. They hit Gouryoku in the neck with four kunai. I was able to kill them only using Feathers of Suzaku and Lance of the Blue Dragon, so I wouldn't incapacitate myself again. But I was too late to save Gouryoku..."

"No...Gouryoku..." Sakura whispered as she sat down on a rock, tears streaming down her face.

"This can't be, not Gouryoku," Sakashimi said in denial as he sat next to Sakura, trying to holdback his tear, like a true ninja.

Gouryoku just stood there, looking like he too was trying to hold back an immense amount of tears. Sasuke just chuckled with a smirk. "Very impressive," he finally interjected, "I almost believed you were Kratos-sama."

_Impossible, did he figure out my disguise?_ Gouryoku thought to himself. _No, no, he must just think I'm an enemy ninja._

"What are you talking about Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "Nobody but us, Rieka, and Ayake knew Kratos-sensei left. And only Gouryoku knew where he was."

"That's the point," Sasuke stated with a smile. "The only person who knows where Kratos-sama is, is Gouryoku. Isn't that right?" he directed at Gouryoku.

_Who is this kid?_ Gouryoku thought._ No Genin could figure out my disguise. The Konoki Shadow ANBU Squad haven't even figured it out._ Gouryoku, Sakura, and Sakashimi just stood there in utter shock as Sasuke began to elaborate.

"You see Gouryoku, you made three key mistakes that tipped off your true identity. Your first mistake was forgetting Kratos-sama's skills as a Medical-Nin. When Kratos-sama was in the hospital, Rieka-san and I had a lot of in-depth conversations about him; one of which was the first time you and he arrived atthe village. The two of you were mistaken for enemies by the northern Sentinels, and they attacked you two. Kratos-sama was rendered helpless by a shadow binding technique and you were hit the neck with four kunai. Coincidence? I think not."

Gouryoku held his head in shame at his obvious blunder, but remained silent as Sasuke contined.

"Kratos-sama was helpless as he watched you die, a sight he could barely stand. Rieka was a sentinel at the time and realized you two weren't a threat, ordering him to be relesed while she called for medical attention for you. Kratos-sama could only watch helplessly as the Medical-corps tried to revive you. A successful attempt as we can now see. After that day, Kratos-sama vowed to become a great Medical-Nin to prevent that from happening again. His skills have improved so greatly now, that there is no weapon wound that he cannot heal; meaning he would have been able to revive you after dispatching the Hunters, which would have taken n tim at all with the two jutsu you mentioned."

Sakashimi was deeply impressed by Sasuke's comprehension skills, Sakura was in comlpete awe, and Gouryoku just sunk deeper into embarassement and shame.

"Your second mistake was to neglect your own abilities. Rieka told me about your training as well. After that incident, you heightened your senses to make you completely aware of you surroundings, so yu could never be caught off-guard. Then, you increased your speed and agility so that your reflexes could keep up with your new senses. This makes you virtually impossible to hit with a projectile weapon: let alone four. She also told me that you are now master of genjutsu. You transform into a human all the time to aid Kratos-sama in missions."

_I can't believe this kid! How could he have figured all that out by remembering a conversation? His skills of interogationare amazing He's going to make a great ANBU shinobi._

"But your biggest mistake, your unexcusable mistake; you neglected to remember how much Kratos-sama truly loves you Goutyoku." Gouryoku eyes widened in horror of his terrible mistak. _He's right..._ "He would give his own life for you. There is no way he would have made it back here without shedding a tear. He would have carried your dead body all the way back in his arms, looking for any help he coud find. He wold make sure you received a proper burial. Wouldn't he?" Gouryoku fell to his knees, eyes as wide as the moon, tears beggining to form. "Well? Wouldn't he?! Answer me damn it! Answer me!" Sasuke shouted as he shook Gouryoku by the collar.

Sasuke's rage had overwhelmed him and he pulled out a kunai in his excitement. "Answer me you son of a bitch!" He screamed as he raised his kunai.

"No Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as she tackled him fromthe side. "What do you think you're doing."

"Gouryoku, is that really you?" Sakashimi asked the sobbing wolf.

"Yes...it's me."

"Gouryoku-chan...?" Sakura wondered as she lay on top of Sasuke.

"Kratos-sama and I didn't want to worry you guys. So I used a tranformation jutsu t change into this form and stop you guys from going to Shroud."

"So Kratos-sama is going after Raiyu," Sasuke said as he threw Sakura off of him.

"Yes, but how did you..."

"Ayake and Rieka told us that was probably where he was going."

"Oh, of course. Sasuke you're right, my actions have been unforgiveable. I knew I shouldn't have left Kratos-sama to fight Raiyu-sama alone."

"Who is Raiyu-sama?' Sakura asked.

"There's no time to explain, we have to get to Shroud as quickly as possible," Gouryoku instructed. "I'll explain on the way; we have to get to Raiyu-sama before Kratos-sama does.

Goryoku got on all fours and took off into the trees. The three Gnin tried their hardest to keep up but it was quite difficult keeping up with the wolf_. Kratos-sama, please forgive me_. Gouryoku thought_. We both know you can't take him on alone_.

Kratos sat in a tree just outside of Shroud, monitering the movements of the sentinels_. This is it Raiyu. Our rivalry ends today. My father's evil intentions will end by my hands; you will DIE by my blade! _

Chapter 9: A Timeless Friendship Die!

* * *

Gouryoku led the Genin through the tree tops to maximize speed; but the Genin could barely keep up with the wolf-man. In order to better prepare the students for what was to come, Gouryoku slowed down to tell them the origins of Kratos' relationship with Raiyu. "So, who is this Raiyu-san?" Sasuke asked. 

"Well kids, you see, Kratos-sama isn't the only Omega-born shinobi to be banished from the village," Gouryoku shouted, to reach the trailing Genin.

"What...do...you..mean? Sakura stammered, trying to keep up.

"Kratos-sama and Raiyu Kokuzoku were both Tyranid's most promising students. They had the ability to master the Four Jutsu at a very young age. When Tyranid informed them of this, he performedte sealing jutsu on each of them to prevent them from happening; even though he told hem it would increase hs power. You already know that Kratos-sama's body absorbed the seal, but Raiyu-sama's body completely rejected the seal. The jutsu left a mark, but it was utterly ineffective."

The three Genin looked in horror as Gouryoku confirmed he fear they all shared: "Raiyu can now master the Four Jutsu!"

Sasuke was simply moving by reflexes, as his mind was completely lost by the horrible news_. How can we stop someone who is probably stronger than Kratos-sama?_

"Kratos-sama and Raiyu-sama became bitter rivals after that and swore that one day one of them would be defated by the other and the winner would become Kage. Theywere rivals, but they were also insperable. They went everywhere together and were the best of friends. Tyranid had always overheard Raiyu-sama sayng that one ay he would become Kage, and divised a scheme to prevent that from ever happening. Two weeks before Tyranid planned on killing Kratos-sama, he banished Raiyu-sama from the village on grounds of treason. He planned on having him killed before he made it to any other village, but like Kratos-sama, he survived. Eventually, he made it to Shroud. Both Kratos-sama and Raiyu-sama were members of their villages ANBU squads. In one of thei earlier missions, they met up with each other and explained what Tyranid had done to them. Raiyu-sama was so upset, he swore revenge on Tyranid, which Kratos-sama had done as well, and then vowed to kill Kratos-sama to prevent him fom stealing his revenge from him. Ever since then, Raiyu-sama has enlisted the aid of Hunter-Nin and various ANBU members to bring down Kratos-sama, and Kratos-sama has been practicing his jutsu on them for years without ever going on the offensive. It appears now, Kratos-sama wants to end this rivalry, once and for all."

"Do you think Kratos-sensei can actually...kill...Raiyu-sama?" Sakura inquired.

"Of course he can, Sakura-chan!" Sasuke interjected. "There's no way Kratos-sama can lose to a coward that won't even fight him himself."

"I know Sasuke," she responded, trying to hold back tears, "but what if..."

"You can't have any doubts Sakura-kun," Sakashimi sternly told her. "We are only going to be moral support for Kratos-sensei; he doesn't need anybdies help."

"You got that right Sakshimi," Sasuke shouted.

_If only I had your optimism Sakashimi_, Gouryoku thought_. Please don't anything foolish Kratos-sama, we're on our way._

Kratos stood over the bodies of his victims. "Medical training and surgical needles are perfect for taking out pesky sentinels," he said to himself. "I just wish they could have put up more of a fight." Kratos knew thirty-seven pessure points on the human body that can place the victim in a state of suspnded animation for hours. All eight of the sentinels appeared to be killed, not showing any signs of life, but the were perfectl fine. The next thing he had to do was infiltrate the village and find Raiyu_. Sympathy is probably the best method_. Using genjutsu, he made it appear as if he had man mortal wounds. He stubbled into the village, searching for somebody that would "help" him. It did not take long for the ramen shop owner to see the "dying" shinobi. "Sir?" she called out from behind the counter. "Are you alright sir? Sir?" Kratos pretended to faint, and the woman ran to his aid.

Gouryoku and the kids arrived at Shroud, greeted by a horrific sight; eight Jonin-level sentinels, dead at their feet. "It looks like Kratos-sensei isn't afraid of killing anybody who gets in his way," Sakashimi said, as Gouryoku inspected the bodies.

"Don't worry Sakasimi, they're playing possum," he stated.

"What do mean Gouryoku-sama?" Sakura asked, releived that the sentinels had not been killed.

"Kratos-sama knows where to place medical needles so the victim's body becomes devoid of any signs of life: movement, breathing, pulse, and even the pupils dialate."

"Wow, he's more skilled than I thought," Sasuke feignly said, knowing full well that Kratos' medical training and weapon kills made that very possible.

Gouryoku instructed the Genin to search the city for any signs of Kratos, returning to normal to maximize his senses to make searching easier.

Kratos wound up in the ramen shop owner's house; not a place he needed to be. "Are you feeling better sir?" she asked.

"Please, call me Kratos. And yes, I'm feeling fine now, but I need to find someone fast. I have a very important message to deliver."

"Well, who is it that you are looking for?"

"I am looking for Raiyu Kokuzoku. Do you know of him?"

"'Know of him?' He's my best customer!"

"Really? Do you know where he may be?"

"Uh...oh! He's probably at the ANBU headquarters training the new recruits."

"Thanks ma'am, I'll go right away." Kratos turned to leave and stopped in the doorway. "By the way, to whom do I owe my life?"

"Just call me Lumina," she said with a wink.

Kratos did not knw how to take her gesture, but it did not matter; he knew were his opponent was.

The three Genin met in the center of the city, all searches yielded nothing. Gouryoku met up with them, and they could tell by his face; they still had no leads.

Raiyu instructed his two new ANBU members in the arts and secrets of the ANBU Black Ops. "So, for now, we are mostly being used as the village's last line of defense when an alert is sounded. Take this peace time to train and hone your skills. I have a feeling war will be upon us again in no time; in fact...I'm hoping for it." The two trainees were a little startled by theircommander's lack of composier, but merely shrugged off the comment and turned to walk out of the head quarters.

Kratos threw two medical needles from the celing, piercing the two trainees in the neck between teir collar bones and trachea. He jumped down from the ceiling and confronted Raiyu. "It looks like they let anyone into the Shroud ANBU ops these days, huh body?"

"Kratos Hushino, I must say it's not a pleasure seeing your sorry face again," Raiyu said as he grabbed a shuriken from his back pouch.

"Likewise, traitor," Kratos said, pulling out two kunai.

"You're calling me the traitor? You were the one who wanted to kill your own father."

"To avenge my mother. You were willing to betray the entire village for your own selfish gain."

"I'm sorry you fell that way..." Raiyu paused for a second, and then without warning, threw the shuriken straight at Kratos' head. Kratos countered with his two kunai. In an attempt to add insult to injury, he threw one kunai at the bottom of the shuriken to send it upward and the scond kunai at the shuriken's new position; he hoped to hit Raiyu with his own weapon. Raiyu, however, was too quick and simply dodged the shuriken. "I'm glad to see your kunai skills haven't diminished over the years.

"Glad to see you are still as fast as ever."

"Let's do this the old way."

"Taijutsu first and first one to use nin- or genjutsu claims he is the inferior fighter?"

"Is there any other way?"

"I guess not." Kratos bent his knees and placed his hands in claws, dangling in front of him. "I'm going to have to use the Lone Wolf, for tradition's sake."

"You would. I on the other hand have evolved beyond using simple kid's stuff. I will go with Tyranid-sama personal style: Spirit of the Dragon!" Raiyu placed his feet in line with Kratos' body and plced his hands out front in the shaped of a dragon's head.

"Age before beauty," Kratos gestured.

"Good, I get to end this quick."

Gouryoku and the Genin had virtually given up on searching the large village. The ony areas they had not chacked yet were the areas that are off-limits to outsiders; such as the ANBU head quarters. Sakura had suggested they go to the ramen shop, Lumina's shop, which they passed on the way in to the village and get a bite to eat while they regrouped. "Cha! I can't believe we haven't found any leads yet!" Sakura exclaimed. "Not even Gouryoku found anything, and he's one of Konoki's best searching ninken."

"Don't worry Sakura, we will find him, and we will stop him," Sakashimi said as he drank therest of his broth.

"Don't count on it Sakashimi," Sasuke explained as he finished his ramen. "If Kratos-sama doesn't want us to find him...we won't."

"Cha! Sasuke! Why do you always have to be so negative?"

"I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic. Kratos-sama has more power than the four of us combined and has the ability to kill all four of us with little to no effort."

Lumina was not much of an eves-dropper, but she could not help but interject in that situation. "Excuse me, why are you looking for Kratos-san?"

"He our sensei ma'am," Sakura explained, "and we are trying to bring him home before he..."

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled as he punched Sakura's head. "Never reveal more than you have to about your mission."

"Never strike your own teammate!" Sakashimi shouted, pushing Sasuke off of his chair.

"Please stop it you two," Sakura pleaded. "We're suppose to be a united trinity."

"Sorry Sakura-kun, I didn't mean to..."

"I forgive you Sasuke-kun."

Kratos struck Raiyu with a powerful punch, sending him into the wall. Raiyu realized that the offensive dragon stance might not have been the best choice against the balanced wolf stance, but he liked the challenge. Kratos came at him again, infusing chakra into his fist for more force. Raiyu countered with a chakra infused hand of his own and struck down on Kratos' arm, sending Kratos into the ground. He then roundhouse kicked Kratos, but Kratos used his chakra to hold on to the floor to prevent him from going into the wall. "I'll never let you win Raiyu!" Kratos pushed off from the ground and performed some hand signs in the air. He came at Raiyu so fast, it appeared that he hit him from four sides at once. "Lighning Combo," he shouted as he infused chakra into his fist and sent it straight into Raiyu' chest. Raiyu coughd up blood as he fell to the ground.

"Give up Raiyu, you know I've always been better with taijutsu."

"Don't make me laugh Kratos," Raiyu chuckled as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "I just always grew bored of usig nothing but taijutsu. I'd rather be crowned best fighter for beating you, not for using nothing but taijutsu." Raiyu performed a series of hand signs, as Kratos built up chakra in his hand until it became visible. "Blade of the Endless Void!" A sword appeared frm the shadows and Raiyu charged at Kratos with it.

"Lightning Edge!" Kratos used the chakra he had built up and ran at Raiyu. Raiyu swung down hard with the Chaos Blade and Kratos met it with his Chidori.

Lumina explained to the Genin that she had already met with Kratos. She told them that she informed him of where Raiyu was and he rushed off to go tellhim a mesage. She informed them of where to find him and Gouryoku took off towards the ANBU HQ. "Thank you Lumina-san, but we have to go," Sakashimi said as the three Genin ran off after Gouryoku.

_Please wait for us master,_ Gouryoku thought. _You won't be able to kill him without cost._

_I'm coming Kratos-sama, _Sasuke thought. _I will help you destroy your enemies, even if it costs me my life._

Kratos and Raiyu laid at opposite ends of the room; it's walls where charred by the explosion of chakra that took place when they collided. "It...doesn't look like...we're getting...anywhere old friend," Raiyu stammered.

"Why don't...we stop waisting chakra...and finish this," Kratos declared as he stood up, performing hand signs as he rose. Raiyu followed suit and prepared to counter. Both shinobi finishe their series, and then shouted in unison: "First Gate open! Second Gate open! Ultimate Taijutsu: Fury of the White Tiger!"

Chapter 10: Battle of Kinjutsu!

* * *

Both shinobi attack with full force, using no defensive taijutsu. Kratos and Raiyu chose to open the first two chakra gates, increasing their strength, speed, and stamina, which allowed them to tolerate more pain. They did not, however, open the Third Gate, which would increase their reflexes, and their bodies could not keep up with each other's movements, forcing them to take every hit. Kratos launched Raiyu into the air, then forcefully struck him back towards the ground. Raiyu simply rebounded off the ground and kicked Kratos even further into the air and knocking him into the ceiling. Kratos and Raiyu matched each other punch for punch, kick for kick, blow for blow. Neither shinobi could strike the other one with enough force to shift the tide of battle. They each opened up the Fifth Gate to greatly increase their speed. Their strikes became fast and vicious, moving nearly the speed of sound. Eventually, the two shinobi stopped their attacks and faced eachother from across the room; they were beaten and breathless. "We are too evenly matched Kratos, we'll have to move on." Kratos did not respond, he simply looked intently at his enemy, pulling out a kunai. Raiyu did the same. The two ninjas put togther another series of hand signs, causing chakra infused water to build up around the blades of their kunai. "Lance of the Blue Dragon!" 

The three Genin met up with Gouryoku at the entrance of the ANBU HQ, only to meet an unfortunate obstacle. "How is the door locked?" Sakashimi asked. "Kratos-sensei got in and this is the only way in."

"Maybe he got in through a window, or through the roof," Sakura suggested,

"Impossibe, all ANBU HQ's have only one entrance so less defenses have to be placed inside," Sakasimi explained.

Gouryoku howled a grueling howl and began bashing the door, all in vain.

Kratos' and Raiyu's lances met at the tip. Once again they were caught in a stalemate with no clear victor. They jumped back from each other and used the physical characteristics of water and chakra to serpintine their lanced throughout the room. Both shinobi had to not only control their own lance, but also focus on avoiding their opponents lance. Their lances eventually snaked around the entire room, cornering the two on opposite sides of the room. With nowhere to run, both ninjas were struck by the full force of the attack. When they were struck, they lost their concentration and the lances faded away. "You will die by my hand Raiyu, even if I have to open all Eight!"

"Gouryoku that's enough!" Sakura shouted. "We cannot get in. The door is sealed with a chakra barrier."

The winded wolf fell to the ground. Gouryoku had no idea what he could to open the door. He did not know any ANBU level releasing jutsu, and the Genin only knew the basic-level genjutsu defense.

"Feathers of Suzaku: Crimson Death!" Kratos and Raiyu became surrounded by by thousands of red feathers. "This is where it ends Kratos!" "You're right Raiyu, this is where I'll kill you!" The two sent the feathers surrounding thm at their opponent. The feathersall began colliding in the air, exploding on impact. A giant fireball formed from the explosions and sent Kratos and Raiyu fying throuh the air and into the surrounding walls.

"What was that?" Sakashimi asked.

"It came from inside the building," Sakura said. "It sounded like...Oh no!"

"What? What is it?"

"Kratos-sensei used that feather jutsu. He must be getting desperate, we don't have much time!"

Sasuke was not going to sit by and let his master die. He collected chakra in his hand until it glowed deep blue. The n he charged at the door with all of his speed: "Chidori: Lightning Blade!"

Kratos and Raiyu could barely move, their bodies were starting to give out. "It looks like we're down to one last jutsu Kratos."

"I only need one more jutsu to kill you Raiyu. Now is your last chance o beg for forgiveness and plead for mercy."

"Don't make me laugh Kratos. Why wouldn't I use Master's favorite jutsu?"

"Then I am sorry for what I am going to do Raiyu. You are truly a formidable opponent and you were a hell of a friend. I will always treausre our time together."

"Always the friend, even as death draws near."

Kratos and Raiyu prepared their final jutsu: "Wisdom of the Black Tortoise: Never-Ending Death!" Both shinobi were hit by the jutsu. They could feel their bodies being destryoed from the inside out. As thir bodies began to decay, it became harder to hold on to the jutsu. Kratos, however, did not need to concentrate. "Raiyu, you have always been a fool," Kratos said as he formed more hand signs. "Never attack your opponent with the same jutsu they're using."

Sasuke was able to destroy the door and the four rushed in to aid Kratos. They were too late to help Kratos, but not too late to see the horror unfold again. "Feathers of Suzaku!" They watched as Kratos struggled in pain as thousands of crimson feathers descended upon Raiyu, completely incinerating him in the coinciding explosion. The three Genin were stopped in their tracks, especially Sakura, who hated envisioning her sensei as a cold-blooded murderer. Gouryoku, however, ran to his master's side. Kratos had falling unconscious, and Gouryoku tried to awaken him. Sasuke was the first to snap out of his trance and he ran to Kratos' side. Sakashimi was second, but he walked up to his sensei, tramatized by seeing death caused by the hands of his sensei for the second time. For some reason, Sakura was drawn to the charred remains of Raiyu. Although she hated seeing her senei kill, she had to see his dirty work first hand. When she reached the body, she broke don crying. "Why Kratos-sensei? Why do you do this? How could you do this? You aren't Death's Leiutenant!"

Kratos awoken the next morning. He was greeted by five faces he couldn't be happier to see: Gouryoku, Sasuke, Sakashimi, Sakura, and most comforting of all, Snow Kajin. "Snow? Where did youcome from?"

"She's been with you all night," Sakura began to explain. "We met up with your squad as we came back to the village. Snow took brought you back here and stayed by your side all night with Gouryoku."

"I can't lose you Kratos," Snow said softly through her crying. "You are too precious to me."

"I'm glad to hear that Snow."

Kratos and Snow were left alone in the room. The two poured their hearts out to each other. Kratos explained his ambitions and Snow vowed to help him defeat his father, become Kage, and establish Omega as a powerful and respectable village. While Snow and Kratos talked, Sasuke told Sakura and Sakashimi what Kratos had told him in the hospital. Suprisingly, the two were fully prepared to take on their responsibilities.

One week later, Kratos met up with Snow and his team. "Well guys, it's time we began our training."

"We're ready Kratos-kun, we give you our lives and our hearts," Snow declared.

"Kratos-sama, lead us to glory," Sasuke said as he he placed his new ANBU mask on.

"I want to become the greatest Medical-Nin in history, so I can one day end the suffering shinobi face in battle," Sakura vowed.

"Joufu and I will become as great a team as you and Gouryoku," Sakashimi said as his young wolf barked.

"Let it be known, the newly formed Alpha Squad will become the most fiercesome force in all the land," Kratos announced.

The members of the Alpha Squad looked on to the sunset, watching as this phase of their lives ended, and a new chapter began_. I will avenge you mother, and I will bring you back...one day...I promise! _


	2. Part II: The Alpha Squad

Chapter 1: Enter the Alpha Squad!

* * *

The newly formed Alpha squad set out for their training. Sakura took a break from training her combat skills to practice her medical skills. She vowed to become an even greater Medical-Nin than Kratos, Reika, and Ayake combined. Her precise control of chakra made training a breeze. She was merely a Chunin, but her skills in medicine and healing were growing at a much more rapid rate than anyone else in the corps. Kratos had planned on taking Sakura under his wing as a medical student, but he quickly foun that she learned much faster by helping out all of the veteran Medical-Nin whenever she could. Kratos was somewhat releaved because this left him to complete other training without the added stress of training Sakura.

Sakashimi and Joufu had become an incredible duo. They leared a variety of genjutsu that allowed them to form devastating combo moves together. Their singnature move had become Claw of the Demon Okami, in which both Sakashimi and Joufu would transform into wolfmen and attack the enemy with simultaneous attacks of their claws. The jutsu is so fast that it appears as if Sakashimi and Joufu hit their opponent one hundred times in a matter of seconds. Kratos once again had hoped to train Sakashimi as a ninken trainer, but found himself replaced yet again. Gouryoku had taken Sakashimi under his paw and trained him to be as great a ninken trainer as Kratos. The three formed a three ninja squad that went on many retrieval and scouting missions. Kratos was not needed in either Sakashimi's training nor the missions the squad went on. This left him with even more free time.

Sasuke and Kratos now belonged to the Konoki Shadow ANBU Squadron, and as such went on many missions together. When they were not on missions, however, Sasuke opted to train on his own. He still needed time before he could accept Kratos' offer of teaching him the four Kinjutsu of Omega. Kratos respected Sasuke's decisions, but was saddened that his last hope for a personal student had left him by himself. Snow was not really an option as a student, since she was already established as a shinobi. Kratos had no choice but to train on his own; that is, until Kage Goven had assigned him a new task.

"Kuerni is merely a Chunin, she cannot handle an entire class on her own," Goven told Kratos in his office. "Kratos-senpai, you are one of Konoki most elite shinobi. You can not only help those students become better shinobi, but you can also teach Kureni-san a thing or two about being a sensei."

Kratos was exactly excited about his reassignment. "Are you sure there isn't any other thing I could do for the village?" He asked, bowing to the Kage.

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad," he said as he walked around from behind his desk and picked Kratos back on his feet. "Plus, you'll get some one on one time with the hot new sensei," the Kage said with a wink.

"Still as spry as always, huh Goven-sama," Kratos said as he shook his head.

"It's the only thing that wakes me up in the morning." The two shared a good laugh. "And, although I don't fully condown it," Goven said apprehensively, "I will give you full freedom in your training methods."

"Poor kids," Kratos said with a smirked as he walked out of the office.

Kage Goven was right on one thing, Kureni Megami was gorgeous. She had recently turned 18, and was at the peak of youth and beauty. She had long flowing hair that drapped her soft and elegant shoulders. She had an hourglass figure with a great set of legs. The part of her that held most men's hearts, however, were her eyes. They were a beautful crimson red that pierced straight to the souls of man. She was also a very accomplished genjutsu user.

Kureni had been tying in vain all morning to round up the kids andget them prepared for ther lesson. The eight year olds however, were not willing to take orders from a sensei they considered to be a kids still. Kratos could hear the commotion inside the training hall where Kureni was. He stood outside, dressed in full ANBU armor, ready to make an incredible first impression.

Kratos kicked down he door to the hall and the kids fell silent. "Ever have one of those days when you don't want to wake up?" He rhetorically asked. "Everything's screwed up, everybody sucks? You don't really know why, but you wanna justify...ripping someone's head off!" The kids froze up in fear. "No human contact, and if you interact, your life is on contract! Your best bet is to stay away...'cause it's just one of those day!" The students screamed in terror as Kratos used the Shadow Dragon jutsu. Conjuring all of the shadows in the hall, he created a large dragon that serpentined around the stuents and held them all in the center of the room. "You will listen to everythig Kureni-sensei has to say. First one t complain will leave with a bloodstain!" One of the young boys shouted out, "you're a maniac!" "Damn right I'm a maniac!" he said with an evil stare, beaming at the young boy. "Is that a complaint? What do you think Kureni-sensei?"

"That's...ok Kratos...-sama, I think...he was just making...a comment," Kureni stuttered, completely in shock as well. "Students, this is Kratos Hushino, he will be helping me as your sensei this year."

The children's faces became white as snow by her statement. _Is this nut-job really going to be our sensei?!_ Everyone thought. "Ok, let's take a fifteen minute recess while Kratos-sensei and I talk about today's lesson," Kureni instructed as Kratos released the dragon. The children all ran outside as soon as they were freed. Many of them did not want to come back after recess. Kureni prepared some tea and sat down with Kratos.

"Kinda overdramatic, don't you think?" she asked as she poured him a cup of tea.

"Not at all," Kratos chucckled with a grin. "I find it is best to instill a sense of fear in your studentd early, to gain their cooperation."

"From what I heard, you've only had three students," Kureni smuggly replied.

Kratos only stared blankly at her. Both shinobi used their peircing eyes to stare into each other souls in order to intimidate the other one; neither one even flinched.

"For today, I was hoping to go on a survival mission," Kureni spoke to brek the silence. "Most of the students in this class have at least three years in the academy, so it will be a great ay to test their skills.

"Well then, I plan on making this very interseting," Kratos said in a sly tone. "Let's see how well you can teach." Kratos disappeared in a cloud of smoke as the children came back in. Kureni could not be more worried about her first lesson, and for good reason.

Chapter 2: Kureni-sensei Fails!

* * *

Kureni finished instructed her students on the parameters of the survival mission, allowed them to go get any supplies they believed were necessary, and led them to North Gate. As the left the village, Kureni saw a familiar face. "Sakura Haruno?" she asked. "Is that you?" 

"Kureni Megami?" Sakua responded, seeing her old friend fom the academy. The two girls may have been five years apart, but they were the best of friends in the academy. Sakura was an akward little girl when she first came to the academy. Kureni, being the outgoing and popular senior she was, took the young Sakura under her wing and gave her a social leg up in the academy. Sakura looked up to Kureni like a big sister, and strove to be just like her. Kureni helped Sakura train every new skill she learned and helped prepare her for all of her exams. The day Kureni graduated from the academy was one of the saddest days of Sakura's life. Kureni was assigned to a hermit sensei that chose to become reclusive with his students. Kureni was away from Konoki for three years, until her sensei became a Missing-Nin and she was able to return for the Chunin exam. This was the first time the two had seen each other since Kureni's graduation.

The two girls conversed for some time and played catch up with their lives. That is, until one young boy spoke out. It was the same boy that accused Kratos of being insane: Saco Kuzaki. "Are we going to go on te survival mission already? Or should we just go find Kratos-sensei?"

"Wait, Kratos-sensei is teaching at the academy now?" Sakura asked Kureni.

"Um...yeah, why?" Kureni responded, since Sakura had not told her about her sensei.

"Kratos-sensei was my team's sensei when I was a Genin!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Wow, that's cool! So can you give me any tips to help me work with him? He seeems pretty tightly wound."

"Yeah, he can be a little crazy. The main thing you need to know is..." before Sakura could finish, a voice interjected from the top of the gate.

"If you're not ready to die..." Sasuke said as he jumped from the gate, "...he will kill you."

Sasuke and Kureni had never really seen eye to eye in the academy, which may have been one of the reasons why he and Sakura did not get along in the begining of their Genin training. "Kureni, this is one of my old teammates, Sasuke Uch..." Sakura began as Kureni interupted.

"I know who he is," she screeched. "It's been a long time Sasuke-chan."

"Not long enough if you ask me," Sasuke arrogantly replied as he walked back towards the ANBU HQ.

"Well, it looks like time has made fools of us all Uchiha," Kureni sneered. "Didn't you always use to call me a cocky bimbo? You're sounding pretty cocky now yourself."

In an instant, Sasuke was behind Kureni, her arms subdued with one hand and he held a kunai in the other, holding it against her neck. "It ain't bragging bitch if you can back it up."

"Sasuke-san, leave her alone," Sakura sighed, knowing very well that Sauke was very arrogant.

Sasuke pushed Kureni away, almost making her tip over hr own students. "Good luck on your mission kids," he began as he walked away. "You're going to need it if that bimbo is going to be your sensei."

Kureni went to charge at Sasuke to shut him up, but Sakura held her back. "Leave him Kureni-kun, he's not worth it."

"Maybe your right Sakura," Kureni responded as she put away her kunai. "I've ust wanted to shut him up since our time in the academy."

Sakura laughed, knowing exactly why Kureni wanted to do so. Th two girls said their good-byes and Kureni led the students into the woods. She told them about all the local fauna: which ones were poisonous, which ones were safe to eat, and which one held medcal properties. The students were quite impressed that their young sensei knew what shews doing. While they walked, Kureni had the students practice hand signs and had competitions to see who could spot certain types of birds first, who could brag smal woodland creatures with their hands, and who ws most ccurate with kunai and shuriken.

As Kureni taught her students, Kratos prepared for their arrival. He had planned on setting traps along their path, but realized it would compromise the integrity of the exercise. Instead, he decided to mix the clone and transformation jutsus to give them living targets for combat practice. He made twelve clones of himself. Ten of the clones tranformed into shinobi of the other great villsges; two of each were created. The other two clones transformed into wild boars and planned to attack the students' campsite at night. Kratos was going to wait at the end of their path to challenge Kureni to a spar.

The students marched down the path, feeling pretty confident in their abilities. "Alright 'Cloud Two,'" one of Kratos' clones said to his partner. "Let's see how well prepred Kureni is." The two clones surrounded the group of students; one in the back, the other in the front. Kureni responded immediately.

"Form a circle, back-to-back!" She shouted as she jumped into the middle of her students. "Don't make a move until I make the command. Cloud is neutral with Konoki now, so we don't want to do anything costly."

Nobody moved for minutes, Kureni was the only one with a drawn weapon. After a few moments, the clone in front started to laugh as the two transformed back into Kratos' form. "Very good Kureni," the clone in the back said, "I'm glad to see you and your students are so prepared for combat." The front clone stopped laughing. "And it was a good move to have them hold their position against an allied village," he added.

"Thanks Kratos-sensei..." she responded, but the two clnes had already dissipated. "Alright guys, I think we should set up camp for the night."

As according to plan, the two clones that had become wild boars attacked the camp. Once again, however, Kratos was disappointed by the resourcefulness of Kureni and her students. They made quick work of the two boars and prepared to go back to sleep. Not being one to be shown up by a Chunin, Kratos ordered the rest of his clones to attack the camp. The eight of them surrounded the camp and prepared to lay siege to it. "Everyone!" Kureni shouted to get her students' attention, "Never show them your back, and concentrate attacks on one at a time."

The students did just that. They all threw shuriken at one of the Shroud clones, while Kureni stuck behind a Shine clone and stuck a kunai right in its back. When the clone disappeared, she realized that they all ha to be Kratos' clones tesing the students. She stopped attacking and allowed her students to show their stuff. Kureni was not only surprised that Kratos would send clones that only had the strength of Chunin, but also that her students were able to defeat them all. Two of her students received minor wounds in the arms, but overall, everyone was alright. Kureni congratulated her unit on a successful defense and everyone went back to bed. Kureni stood watch all night. She did not think her students were not capable of defeating Kratos' clones, she just knew they neededd to be warned of their arrival firs. They were only academy students afterall.

The next morning, her stuents prepared the morning meal while Kureni went ahead to scout for any more of Kratos' clones. "I know he's just trying to help," Kureni said to herself. "But they are only students after all, they cannot handle survival practice and combat training at the same time."

"Then why don't you give them a beak from combat?" a voice inquired from beyond the trees. "It's your turn..." Kratos whispered into her ears, cmpletely catching her by surprise.

Kueni quickly turned and threw a shuriken out of instinct. She realized it was Kratos far to late to recall the throw, but soon found out it was no big deal. As soon as she had thrown it, Kratos had grabbed theshurikn and began to spin it on his finger. "Not bad Kureni," he chuckled. "Next time, conceal your arm movements on the turn, so your opponent merely thinks you are turning out of shock."

"Thanks?" Kureni responded in a slightly confused manor. "What did you mean by it's my turn?"

"I would like to spar with you. You know, to test your abilities."

"Alright, that sounds great," Kureni enthusiastically agreed. "But don't hold back, I want you at you best."

"Are you sure?" Kratos asked, trying to talk her out of it, even though he wanted nothing more.

"Of course! Give me your best sho..."

In an instance, Kureni was knocked out and fell to the ground

"I guess you failed..."

Chapter 3: New Ally or Formidable Threat!

* * *

"How can you say that?" Sakura demanded from Sasuke.

"She knew what she was doing when she accepted the fight," Sasuke reasoned.

"Yeah...but...Kratos shouldn't have...urggh, you two can be so insensitive sometimes," Sakura screamed as she ran into Kureni's hospital room.

Kureni had been knocked unconscious by Kratos in their spar, yet she had nobody could be awoken by anybody for several hours. Sakura was worried about her friend, but Sasuke was proud of his master for not holding back. Kratos was already in the room keeping Kureni stable when the two Chunin entered the room.

"Nice work Kratos-sama," Sasuke stated.

"I guess I went a little too far," Kratos said apologetically.

"I'll say!" Sakura sneered.

"Stop it Sakura," Sasuke snapped back. "I bet there isn't anyone in the village who would survive a match with Kratos-sama..."

"I'll take that bet," a mysterious voice said from the hallway.

"No, I couldn't battle a complete strang..." Kratos began.

"He accepts!" Sasuke interupted.

"Alright, I'll meet you in the center of town in one hour," the man said as he walked away. Before Kratos could say anything, the mysterious man was gone. Kratos didn't want to fight, but knew he had no choice; he would just have to kill Sasuke later.

Kratos walked to the center of town an hour later to find the mysterious man already waiting. "I really don't have any reason to fight you sir," Kratos stated. "Besides, I don't even know your name."

"You may call me Batthousi," the man said. "Now, draw your sword. If you w't fight out of anger or duty, do it for your honor."

Kratos was caught between a rock and a hard place. He really loved fighting, especially with a sword. However, he did not like making a strike in cold blood. In an instant, his aggressive nature got the better of him and Kratos found himself charging Batthousi.

"Perfect..." Batthuosi said to himself as he prepared to block the attack.

Sakura and Sasuke merely watched from the hospital window. The battle the saw taking place was simply indescribable. The two warriors were matching eachother blow for blow. No ninjutsu or genjutsu was being used. Simply lightning fast punches and kicks, and sword slashes that could cut through that lightning. Clangs of metal against metal echoed though the village, yet not one Konoki villager went to the village square to see wha was producing the noise.

After ten minutes of unsuccessful attacks, Batthousi caught Kratos off-guard with an unconventional slash. "You're holding back, Batthousi sternly said as he watched blood drip from Kratos' side.

"Of course I'm holding back," Kratos responded, preparing a healing jutsu and holding his side. "If I didn't hold back, you would be suffering a fate worse than death."

"It's not healthy to hold back your emotions Kratos-san, let me know how you really feel and strike me," Batthousi said as he lowered his sword.

"I don't need a lecture from you. My past is darker than any night. It fills my heart with a shadow that threatens to take my sanity everyday..."

"You must release that shadow then. If you are a true shinobi, you will be able to control your emotions.

"You have no idea what kind of pain I feel! And, you don't know what evil rests within me. How dare you assume I can control such sorrow!" Kratos shouted as he began opening the first two chakra gates.

"Don't you dare tell me that I haven't felt sorrow," Batthousi said, anger rising wthin.

"Shut up! I'll kill you whrere you stand! I've lost everything! There is no hope for me! What have you lost?" Kratos did not even let Batthousi answer. He used the Fury of the White Tiger to pummel Batthousi into the ground. "I'll take everything from you and show you true pain!" Kratos continued to pound Batthousi into the ground consciously, yet subconsciously, the tw warriors were creating energies so powerful, the very stability of he space around them was being distorted.

"Sas-suke?" Sakura stammered by the hospital window. "Wha's going on down there?"

_No!_ Sasuke thought. _Don't do it Kratos-sama! It's not worth it. Why would you open all eight gates?_

Kratos had lost himself in the frenzy. Batthousi seemed as though he was going to leave this world. As Kratos prepared the final blow, an armed saturated in red chakra reached ot from the crater and stopped his punch.

"Don't...you...ever...tell...me...I don't...know loss..." Batthousi said as he jump out of the crater.

Kratos felt no fear of the newly strengthened Batthousi. The two warriors ran at each other with a chakra-fueld intensity that would destroy a mountain. The two titans clashed in the center of the square and their massive chakras being mixing into a powerful, destructive force.

"Sasuke, we have to do something," Sakura demanded. Despite not even paying attntion to her, Sasuke jumped out the second-story window. He began opening the eight Gates on the way down. Sasuke's chakra levels were rivaling those of Kratos and Batthousi.

"Sasuke-kun...?" Sakura whispered to herself, not knowing what was going to happen.

Sasuke ran to the massive ball of chakra, prepared to seperate the two fighters. When he finally made it to the sphere of energy, he was overwhelmed. The chakra flow became unstable and threaened to take the lives of the three warriors within.

"Sasuke-kun! Kratos-sensei!" Sakura shouted as she jumped out the window and ran to help her friends.

Kratos, Batthousi, and Sasuke awoke in the hospital the next day, unable to move. Kratos woke up to the most terrifying sight he had ever seen.

"Damn it Kratos!" Reika shuted as she slapped him in the face.

"Oww! Was that really necessary?" Kratos inquired.

"You're damn right it was necessary. The three of you could have been killed due to your idiocy."

"Batthousi, are you awake?" Kratos said as he began to sit up.

"Sit back down Kratos, you are in no condition to move," Reika demanded, losig her last ounce of patience.

Kratos just stared into Reika's eyes with such intensity that she froze in place. "Batthousi-san, you up?"

"Yeah, sort of," Batthousi responded in a daze.

"I would like to enlist you into my army Batthousi. Your power is amazing and you could..."

"No thanks Kratos-san," Batthousi interjected. "I'd rather go solo if you don't mind."

"Fair enough," Kratos responded as he got out of bed and pu his clothes back on. Reika made sure his equipment was not in the same room. Batthoui and Sasuke were still unable to move. "May our paths cross again. Sasuke, I'll see you at the training grounds when you recover. Please, take your time though, we are in no rush."

Kratos left the hospital, deep in thought_. It must be dissolved. The Alpha Squad is just going to create moreproblems for me. I can't be responsible for their lives much longer. I will have to form a squad of Omega shinobi. No lives will be lost unless they are by my command_. The sun set over the horizon and every member of the Alpha Squad could felt a common uneasiness. Somthing big was coming.


	3. Part III: Broken Bonds

Chapter 1: Weakening Bonds!

* * *

A storm was approaching the village of Konoki. Its intensity threatened to destroy the Six Great Villages and leave Omega as the only standing authority on the planet. Kratos and the Alpha Squad were prepared for the worst, and Kratos began losing himself to his own anger. It would only be a matter of time.

"Shut up Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as she chased after the young Chunin. "Kage Goven told us to help Kureni with weapons training. There aren't enough shinobi to teach since everyone is out on missions."

Sasuke did not respond. He knew his master was troubled and needed to be rescued from himself. He was not sure where he was going, all he knew was that h needed to be there.

"Damn it Sasuke! Stop being so mysterious!" Sakura demanded. "I can't take it anymore, there is no way we can be on the same team..."

Sakura's ranting was ended abruptly by one of the most horrifying sights she had ever witnessed. Seven Med-Ninjas were rushing toward the front gate. Sakura and Sasuke looked toward the center of the commotion to see several bodies mamed and gored beyond recognition. After realizing that there were human and canine bodies in the mass of corpses, Sasuke and Sakura immediately realized who they were: Sakashimi's Alpha Ninken Squad! Sakura rushed into the center of the pile and began aiding the Med-Ninjas, while Sasuke tried to find out what had happened. "The squad was atacked by two mysterious shinobi," the superior Jonin began. "The two of them defeated all 17 members of the squad in just under two minutes. Everyone was branded with a strange ensignia on their chests."

Sasuke looked at one of the bodies and was struck with the most unsettling sight of the day. The blood drained from his face as he recognized all too clearly what the ensgnia was. _Omega...he's already begun to move..._ Sasuke thought to himself. Just then, a staue-like figure caught his eye. The figure had not moved since the incident had begun. He tried to picture who it was, but Sakura helped him in her own way...

"...atos-sensei! Please help us!" she shouted, trying to get Kratos to use his medical expertise. "Please Kratos-sama! They're going to die!"

Kratos did not stir. He only looked at the carnage with souless eyes. He was a man possesed, and noone was going to break him from his trance. Blood flooded the ground at his feet, tears began diluting he blood and screams of agony and horror filled the air. Still, not a muscle moved within Kratos' body. Not even a thought flowed through his mind. His body was completely devoid of life. Like a scarecrow in a field, he watched the fruits of his labor flourish before his very eyes.

The medics spent hours trying to revive any of the victims. Sasuke had given up on trying to snap Kratos outof his trance and began helping Sakura an the medics any way he could. When all was said and done, the revival attempts failed; there were no survivors.

ANBU members were sent to the scene to properly identify the bodies. Sakura and Sasuke waited with Kratos, but the medics returned to their duties, there jobs were done. Sakura and Sasuke knew Sakashimi was one of the victims prior to the ANBU arrival and were lready grieving over the loss of their teammate and friend. After the autopsies, however, a fact came to light that would haunt the Alpha Squad for the rest of their days. Snow was one of the victims as well. Sasuke was trying to imagine what pain Kratos must have been feeling. Not only had he lost two members of his Squad, but also the woman he had given his heart to. Sasuke told Sakura about his thought and the two agreed that Kratos was in his trance due to his immense losses. He still had not moved. Sakura and Sasuke left Kratos alone to gaher himself.

The two Chunin watched their former sensei from a distance. It had begun to rain, and still Kratos had not moved. He was a hollow shell of a human.

The next day, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kureni, the remaining members of the Alpha Squad went to check on Kratos. Much to their dismay, he had not moved all night. Sakura was growing ever worried over his mental health and wanted to help him back to reality. "Kratos-sensei?" she asked as she walked up to him, Sasuke and Kureni waiting to help her from a distance. "Please Kratos-sama, we just want to help you. We can help you give Sakashimi and Snow proper memorials and then we can rebuild the Alph..."

In an instance, Kratos showed more life than he ha in the past twenty-four hours. He had quickl snapped around and grabbed Sakura's throat and lifted her into the air. Sasuke and Kureni tried to help her but Kratos used a shadow binding jutsu to hold them in place. Sakura looked into Kratos' eyes. They were white as ashes, containing no irises nor pupils.

"You are wrong, fucked, and overrated..." Kratos began to sayas he began to strangle Sakura. "I think I'm gonna be sick and it's your fault. I havn't slept since I woke up and found my whole life was a lie motherfucker. This is the end of everything. I am going to end everything..." Sakura began running out of air and Kratos tossed her aside like she were a ragdoll. He then released Sasuke and Kureni.

Sasuke and Kureni rushed to the side of Sakura. Kureni began to treat her wounds while Sasuke confronted Kratos, who was walking away from the village. "What the hell's your problem?" he asked as he drew his katana. Kratos did not even brak stride. "We were only trying to help. You need us."

In a flash, Kratos took Sasuke to the ground and began pushing his head into the gound with his hand covering Sasuke's face. "You are weak Sasuke," he explained as he continued to grind Sasuke's head into the ground. "I'd kill you all myself if I wasn't so fucking merciful." Kratos stood up by pushing off of Sasuke. Kureni was too scared to move, and she did not stop Kratos from leaving the village. She sat motionless for minutes before the glint of sunlight reflecting off of metal snapped her back to reality. It was Kratos' Konoki headband; it had a large cut right through the center.

Kureni held Sasuke and Sakura close. She knew a storm was approaching and it would be qute some time before they reached the eye.

Chapter 2: Search for the Omega Squad!

* * *

A young lady walked down the eastern road just outside Shroud. A beautiful bouquet of wild flowers reted in her hands. The cool breeze blew through her long hair. She could not wait to return to her fiance in Shroud and have a beautiful evening together with him. She was one hundred feet from the eastern gate of Shroud when someon grabbed her from behind. A muffled scream was the only sound she could muster. 

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," Kratos said, merey restraining her with his hands. "I am looking for someone and you are going to help me find him." He took his hand away from her mouth but held her firmly in submission. "Where is Misuraki Tatsuke?" He forcefully asked, squeezing her wrists with his left hand.

The young woman did not respond in words. Her eyes, however, revealed many things to Kratos. At the mention of Misuraki's name, the woman's eyes grewlarge enough for Kratos to see right into her soul. "Oh, so you do know him," Kratos said with a smirk. "Pretty intimately too."

Kratos could not be more right in his judgement. Misuraki was the young woman's fiance. Kratos knew that the woman would try and protect Misuraki, but failure tofind him was not an option.

"Listen here bitch," Kratos shouted, pulling out his katana. "I didn't want to have to hurt you. You will tell me where Misuraki is." Kratos placed the blade against her neck, but still the young woman did not speak. "If you don't tell me where he is, I will make your last hour of life a living Hell! You will beg me to give you the gift of death, and I am not in a giving mood. And once you are dead, I'll just kill Misuraki. You will decide both of your fates by your next breath."

The young woman thought hrd about her next move. She realized the only way to garauntee that she would ever see her beloved again would be to tell Kratos where he was.

"He's...he's...on...a diplomatic...mission...to Konoki..." she explained, he voice was as soft as a dove's. She began to trembe in Kratos' arms.

"Thanks sweety," Kratos chuckled. "See how easy life is when you listen to people who can kill ya?"

In a flash, Kratos was gone. The young woman was left outside Shroud, worrying about wether or not the love of her life was going to live or die.

Chapter 3: The Alpha Squad is No More!

* * *

The Konoki Hospital was overloaded with civilians. Many of the Med-Ninjas felt a mystery was to be solved, but Reika knew better_. Why is he doing this? They are innocent civilians_! 

Reika knew Kratos' hady work better than anyone in Konoki. All of the wounds of the patients that had been comming in had been systematic and wee made to look more fatal than they actually were. Both of which were Kratos' style when he needed a distraction. At first, Reika did not know why he had injured so many innocents just to make distraction, and then it hit her. Kureni, Sasuke, and Sakura had been working at the hospital recently to help with their teamwork and communication skills. Today was no exception.

"Sakura-san! Sasuke-san! Have either of you seen Kratos-senpai?" Reika asked as she rushed into the room the Chunin were in, deeply out of breath.

"No, not since the incident," Sakura responded as all three Chunin shrugged and shook their heads.

Reika left the room in a hurry, not telling anyone exactly where she was going.

"Guys, this isn't working," Kureni exclaimed.

"We're doing our best," Sakura said as she began to heal a new patient. "There are just too many injur..."

"No. not that. I mean the whole Alpha Squad thing. Kratos-sama is obviously unstable right now."

"I hate to say it," Sasuke interjected. "But you're right Kureni. We can't keep following him on these wild searches. Sooner or later, one of us is bound to be killed." Sasuke walked over to the window and stared off at the mountains in the distance. "You two should stay in Konoki. I know you have bonds with Kratos-sama, but you two have too much to live for."

"What are you saying Sasuke?" Sakura asked as she finished with her last patient. "You have a lot to live for too."

"Like what?" Sasuke asked as he opened the window. "My whole family is dead, our village is on the brink of war, and the last man that acted as a father to me nearly killed me and ran off." The two girls began to cry, they had no idea what it was like to be Sasuke and face hardships everyday. "I'm going to go after Kratos-sama, avenge Sakashimi's and Snow's deaths, and live out the rest of my days as a Missing-Nin."

"No Sasuke, you can't..." Kureni cried as sh ran over and hugged him. "I know we've never seen eye to eye, but you have people that care about you here. Don't throw that away!"

"Kureni-kun, Sakura-kun, I must..." Wih that, Sasuke jumped out the window and ran off into the forests surrounding the village.

"I guess the Alpha Squad has disbanded," Sakura shrugged as she wrapped and arm around Kureni. "We just have topray for the best, and they will return to us."

The two girls just sat in the hospital room, crying. They had lost four very important people in their lives. All they had left was each other.

Chapter 4: The Seeds of Omega Have Been Planted!

* * *

Misuraki casually walked through Konoki, wishing that peace could be brought between the two villages soon. His chaperone was to take him to Kage Goven, but Misuraki requsted a tour of the village first. He loved the generousity and hospitality of the Konoki villagers and could not believe his village of Shroud could be at war with such genuinely nice people. Or at least tha is what he had thought when he arrived. When the guard took Misuraki outside the ANBU headquarters, he was greeted by someone nowhere near as friendly as the rest of Konoki. 

Kratos stood outside the ANBU HQ, arms crossed,in full ANBU armor and mask. He signaled to the guard to return to his post, which he readily responded to. "It's been a long time Misuraki" Kratos said as he began towalk down the front steps of the HQ.

"Too long I'm afraid," Misuraki responded. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

Kratos lifted his mask, revealing his famous scar. "Ahh, the Son," Misuraki said as he realized he was in the presnece of his master's kin. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"My father must be stopped, by any means necessary," Kratos explained. "I need members of Omega to join my alliance. There are no other shinobi capable of competing with my father's army."

"This is true," Misuraki mused as he secretly pulled out some poisoned needles. "But why would I try and over throw my master?"

"Because you know as well as I do that he has been corrupted by power and will no rest until all submit to his will."

"Well, that is rather distrubing, but..." Misuraki threw the needles at Kratos' neck, in vain. Kratos caught the needles inbetween his fingers and threw then to the ground.

"Don't mess with me Misuraki. Are you with me? Or am I going to have to kill you?"

"Wow, tough words from the Son. I think I'll try my odds," Misurkai said as he charged Kratos. He prepared a punched and kratos prepared to block it. Misuraki, however, was not readying any normal punch. Kratos would have been more than ready to block a normal punch. When Misuraki made contact, however, a shock wave was created that sent Kratos flying into the ANBU headquaters. Winded and dazed, Kratos struggled to stand back up. "What's the matter Son?" Misuraki asked as he cracked his knuckles. "Daddy never taught you the invisible blast? Oh, that's right, you're old school. You haven't learned all of daddy's new jutsu."

Before Misuraki could continue to gloat, Kratos punched Misuraki in the abdomen so hard and fast that he coughed up nearly a pint of blood and collapsed to the floor. "I don't need any more of father's damn jutsu," Kratos stated as he shook the blood off of his arm. "You see, "new school," I lack something that every one of you cretins have; the curse mark!" Kratos lifted his shirt to reveal a clean stomach. "I have the ability to mster the four Kinjutsu, and I have."

"So, you need to open chakra gates to use them," Misuraki explained as he got back on his feet. "Your body cannot continue to fight long battles, it can't handl the pressure."

"You'd be right, if I hadn't absorbed the energy of the curse mark." Misuraki felt an immense energy fill the air. "Not only do each of the jutsu only require two gates to perform, but many body regenerates ten times faster than the normal human body. I can go the whole day with the first four gates open."

Misuraki knew he would have to open gates as well and use all of Tyranid's new jutsu to combat the Son. "Well, I looks like only one of us are going to walk away from this one," Misuraki said as he performed some new hand signs. Kratosopened the third and fourth gates to gain a speed and strength advantage over Misuraki. He planned on sticking with taijutsuas long as he could. "Solar Incinerator!" Misuraki called out as a large stream offlames burst forth from his hands. Kratos leaped into the air an readied Wrath of the White Tiger. He concentrated half of his chakra into his hand and pummeled Misuraki into the ground. "There are no substitutions for the old ways, Kratos said, feeling victorious. When he went to move, however, he found his whle body was paralyzed.

"Then how 'bout whole new way?" Misuraki said ashe pulled himself out of the crater Kratos had put him in. "I have to admit, I probably shouldn't have taken that hit. You gave me quite the crink in the neck. I wouldn't be able to continue fighting if you weren't at my control."

"What have you done to me?" Krats asked, stuggling in vain.

"It's called Soul Snare. Your muscles have been entaggled with the surrunding shadows. It is impossible to move. It is my signiture move, even Tyranid-sama woud be helpless in it." Misuraki pulled out a small knife and went to stab Kratos. "I can't use jutsus any more, you are quite the shinobi. I will respectyou and make this quick and painless.

Misuraki pepared to thrust the blade into Kratos, when all of a sudden he felt a sharp pain in his stomach and a warm liquid poured down his front. "Nobody gets to kill my rival but me..." Batthousi said as he pulled his katana out of Misuraki.

"Thank you, Batthousi-san," Kratos said as he was released from Misuraki's jutsu. "I owe you one."

"No you don't, you're a member of my village," Batthousi said as he bowed to Kratos. "I was happy to help."

Misuraki awoke a hour later to find Kratos working on healing his wounds. "What are you doing?" Misuraki asked perplexed as to why a man he had just tried to kill was saving his life.

"You're no good to me dead," Kratos said as he finished sealing the wound. "I need you and you know you need to help me."

"Why do you want to overthrow your father?"

"He killed my mother, and left me for dead when I was just a boy. He left me with nothing. I don't just want him out of power, I want him to beg me for death."

"Wow Son, that's pretty deep. I guess I have no choice now." Misuraki tried to stand up but he was too weak. Kratos helped him up and started walking him to the hospital. "Thanks, I guess I owe you my life. I tell you what, you help me get back at that swordsman, and I'll do whatever you want me to."

"I can't allow you to kill him," Kratos sad as he stopped walking.

"Oh, don't worry, I have a more satisfying vengence: humiliation. I want to fight him, in a straightforward match, and strip him of his honor. He would rther have me kill him."

"Good luck with that, Batthousi is not one to be easily broken psychologically. I'll help you break him. We are rivals afterall."

The two Omega soldiers discussed their next plan of attack in the hospital. They wee going to need moe shinobi to cause an uprising in Omega. It was going totake all of their abilities to not only form a powerful army, but to do it in secrecy. It seemed that Konoki had entered the eye of the storm early, but the worst was yet to come.


End file.

Naruto, Adventure, Fantasy